Rage
by Gogirl
Summary: Devestated by Sirius's death, Harry vows revenge on Wormtail. Can the Weasleys stop him before he causes his own self-destruction?
1. Regrets and Revenge

Author's Note: I got inspired for this fic when I finished book 5 and from one of my favorite episodes of Buffy, "Villains." I hope everyone enjoys it, especially those fans that hate Wormtail and mourn the loss of our beloved Padfoot.  
  
Rage  
  
Chapter One: Regrets and Revenge  
  
It was a very humid afternoon in August. None of the Weasleys had set foot outside all day. Although the heat was excruciating, it worked well to Harry's advantage. That way, he would be left alone --- and alone was exactly what he wanted to be right now.  
  
Harry was sitting by the pond in the Weasleys' garden. He'd been back at The Burrow for almost two days, but he'd barely spoken to the to the Weasleys. Hermione was there as well; she'd arrived at The Burrow earlier that summer, only Harry hadn't talked to her much either. Nothing they could say could help him change how he felt.  
  
Sirius had died nearly two months ago, yet the pain of his death was still fresh. Harry still couldn't believe that it was true; part of him still thought that Sirius would escape from the ancient doorway. Any day now, he'd turn up at the Burrow, alive and well, with a fantastic story of what was behind the veil.  
  
But that would never happen. Sirius was gone.  
  
Spending the first half of the summer at the Dursleys' hadn't helped his grief in the slightest. True, they hadn't mistreated him out of fear that the Weasleys, Professor Lupin, or any other of the Order members would find out. Instead, they'd simply ignored him. Harry was used to his treatment, but it infuriated him nonetheless.  
  
I'm glad they don't know about Sirius, Harry thought grimly. If they had said anything about the world being better off without "freaks like him", I would have cursed them --- consequences be damned!  
  
Being at The Burrow should have helped things, but it didn't. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Bill weren't at the house much; when they weren't busy at work in the Ministry, they were attending meetings of the Order of the Phoenix. Fred and George were busy running their new joke shop in Diagon Alley, which had been quite successful since their spectacular exit from Hogwarts the previous year. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had been trying to cheer Harry up as much as possible by offering to play games like wizard chess or Quidditch, but he hadn't wanted to be around them.  
  
None of them seemed to be sad about Sirius. and if they were, they seemed to be hiding their emotions very well. In fact, nobody mentioned him at all. Perhaps they didn't want to talk about his death just yet; nevertheless, it only made Harry angrier.  
  
What's wrong with everyone? he wondered bitterly, picking up a stone and throwing it into the water. Am I the only one who cares that he's gone?  
  
Sirius was gone. and the fact that it could have been prevented more than once had been haunting Harry during the whole summer.  
  
It was his fault. If only he hadn't fallen for Voldemort's trap so easily. if only he hadn't stopped learning Occlumency. Why hadn't he just swallowed his pride and asked Snape to start teaching him again? Had he done either of those things, none of this would have happened.  
  
However, Harry didn't blame himself all of the time. Bellatrix Lestrange was the one who had killed him, and not a day went by without him cursing her to a slow, painful death. Only she wasn't the only one Harry blamed for his death.  
  
To the rest of the wizarding world, Sirius was still a dangerous murderer, while Wormtail, the true murderer, was remembered as a martyr. Wormtail had betrayed his parents. Wormtail had killed Cedric Diggory. Wormtail was the one who had brought Voldemort back. Wormtail was still very much alive.  
  
The mere thought of it made Harry sick to his stomach.  
  
That lying, two-faced, cowardly murderer! he thought angrily, throwing another stone into the pond. If it hadn't been for him... I'll bet he's relieved. Now that Sirius is gone, he won't have him to fear anymore.  
  
If it hadn't been for him, Sirius wouldn't have wasted twelve years of his life in Azkaban. He wouldn't have had to be locked up in Grimmauld Place to begin with. Not only would his life had been happier, he would still be alive.  
  
Harry felt another stab of guilt. And that's my fault as well. Why didn't I just let Sirius and Lupin kill him back in third year? His body would have cleared his name.  
  
But I had to play the hero again, didn't I? I convinced them to just turn him over to the Dementors, but he got away.  
  
"Harry?"  
  
Ginny was walking towards him. "Harry, come inside. It's torture out here!" she said.  
  
"No. no, I'm fine out here," he muttered, turning away from her.  
  
She scowled at him. "No you're not! Your face is sunburned all over!" she added, pointing.  
  
He touched his cheek and felt it sting. "Oh. I didn't notice. It's nothing, really."  
  
"Mum has a lotion that can get rid of it. I'll show you where it is."  
  
"Look, I'm fine!" he snapped. "Leave me alone."  
  
But Ginny wouldn't hear any of it. "Come on," she said impatiently, pulling him up to his feet. "If you stay out here, you're going to be as red as my hair."  
  
*** Ginny led him to the loo and pulled a red bottle out of the medicine cabinet. "It's Sunburn Screen," she explained, handing it to him. "Just put it on the burn and it'll be gone in five seconds. I don't why Muggles keep using stuff that takes days to work."  
  
"Thanks," Harry grunted. He poured out the white lotion into his hand and rubbed it all over his face. Within seconds, the burn faded away.  
  
"Hermione's playing chess with Ron in his room. how about we go watch them?" she suggested. "One of us can play the winner."  
  
Harry shook his head. "I'm not really up for chess right now."  
  
Ginny frowned. "You've been avoiding us."  
  
Harry stared at her. "What? No, I haven't!" he lied.  
  
"Yes, you have! You've barely said anything to Ron, Hermione, or anybody since you've been here!"  
  
"Well, I haven't really felt like talking much lately," he snapped. "So what? Would you feel talking to people if someone you cared about had just died?"  
  
She stared at him. "That was uncalled for," she replied coolly. "I'm trying to help you --- we all are. The least you can do is make it easier for us. I miss him too, you know."  
  
"How can you?" he asked. "Up until last summer, he was just a murderer to you and your family, except for Ron."  
  
"That was before we knew the truth!" she said indignantly. "Before we really got to know him! I didn't know him as long as you did, but I thought he was a good person. So did everyone else! We all miss him!"  
  
"If everyone misses him so much, than why don't they ever show it?" he asked harshly.  
  
"What did you expect to happen?" she shot back. "Should the world end because he isn't here? In case you haven't noticed, Harry, they've been avoiding the subject because they think you're not ready to talk about it yet. And considering the way you're acting, I think they may have a point!"  
  
Harry looked at the ground, feeling extremely stupid for not realizing this sooner. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.  
  
"Well, you ought to be," Ginny replied flatly.  
  
Neither of them spoke for a while. Then Ginny said, in a softer tone, "We were there when he died --- me, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna. I didn't actually see it; none of us did except for you and Neville. Still, we were there, weren't we? That counts for something."  
  
"Yeah. it does," Harry said quietly.  
  
"Then talk to us instead of isolating yourself!"  
  
"You wouldn't understand," he sighed.  
  
"Try me," she said simply.  
  
Harry looked at her. He would have really liked to tell her about how he felt. How it was unfair for Sirius to die when his life hadn't been the happiest; how his name hadn't even been cleared; how he was furious that Bellatrix and Wormtail had got away with it scot-free, since many people in the Ministry hadn't known the truth.  
  
And most of all, he would have liked to tell her and the others about the prophecy --- the prophecy made that he would either have to kill Voldemort or die by his hand --- it had been eating away at him all summer. It would have been such a weight off his shoulders if he could tell everyone.  
  
But he couldn't. He couldn't just tell the people he cared about that his destiny was planned out for him and expect them to accept it right away. he hadn't even fully accepted it yet. If they ever found out, they'd never look at him the same way again. His relationship with his friends was one of the few normal, dependable things that he had left in this world, and he didn't want to lose it.  
  
Before he could say anything to her, there was suddenly a loud knocking at the door. "Harry?" Ron's voice called out. "Ginny? Who's in there?"  
  
"Oh, honestly!" Ginny hissed, opening the door. "Can't anyone get any privacy in this house?"  
  
"Sorry," Ron apologized, poking his head out. "But it's important --- you won't believe." He froze as his eyes fell on Harry. "Er --- what are the two of you doing in the loo together?" he asked awkwardly.  
  
"I got sunburned and she was just showing me where the Sunburn Screen was," Harry explained.  
  
"Right," Ron said, still eyeing the two of them curiously.  
  
"So what's going on that's so important?" Harry inquired.  
  
"Oh, yeah," he said. His face suddenly bore a mixed look of anger and anxiety. "You're not going to believe this, but Dad and Bill just got back from the Ministry, and you'll never guess who they brought with them."  
  
"Who?" Ginny demanded.  
  
"It --- it's Percy. He's back."  
  
To be continued. 


	2. A Weasley Returns

Note to Anne: Lots of Percy-torture in this chapter. I hope it's not to OOC; after the way he acted, he shouldn't just be welcomed back with open arms. If anyone deserves a good sporking more than Umbridge or Sirius's killers, it's him. Heh, Heh, Heh… no one will be spared from my wrath in this fic! If the reactions are too harsh, by any chance, please let me know and I'll tone it down a bit.

By the way, this chapter is in Ginny's POV, since I thought Percy's return would sound interesting from her eyes. This fic will alternate between her POV and Harry's… I hope that isn't too confusing, because I've read a lot of fics with that kind of style. I hope I do it right.

****

Chapter Two: A Weasley Returns

Ginny stared at Ron, unable to believe it. Percy was back? What did he want?

Percy had always been pompous; he prided himself on following the rules, getting top marks, and basically being the "good son." But Ginny had always believed that --- although he was the least fun to be around --- Percy had a good side. Even though he was bossy, he'd tried to look out for her back in her first year of Hogwarts. When Gryffindor finally won the Quidditch Cup, he'd been cheering like a maniac. And he'd been worried sick when he found out Ron was going to be one of the hostages for the second task of the Triwizard Tournament…

The idea that her brother would shun his own family in favor of the Ministry was unthinkable. She never thought that he would think that Harry --- a friend of their family for nearly five years --- was a crazy. He, of all people, would respect Dumbledore enough to believe…

And yet he had done all of those things. It just went to show how people could surprise you.

She glanced at Harry. He looked nothing short of shocked. "He's here?" he asked Ron in astonishment. Then his eyes suddenly narrowed. "Why?"

Ron shrugged. "I dunno, but he's got a lot of nerve, after the way he's treated us --- especially Mum," he said bitterly. "I'd better get Fred and George, they'll want to know." He looked at Harry. "It's okay if you don't want to see him. I'm sure you still remember that letter…"

"I do," Harry replied lightly, "but I want to talk to him anyway."

"Fine," Ron said flatly. "_I _don't." 

"Ron, maybe you ought to at least see him," Ginny said slowly. "He's our brother."

Ron stared at her. "After all the things he said?" he asked incredulously. "Ginny, I thought you were mad at him like the rest of us!"

"Of course I am!" she said vehemently. "But he's our still brother, even if he is a stupid git."

Ron snorted. "That's what Hermione told me. But being related us to us didn't stop _him_ from leaving." He turned on his heel and walked out.

Ginny and Harry went down to the kitchen, where they found Hermione, standing off to the side. Her face bore a very somber look.

Percy stood in the center of the kitchen, next to Bill and a grim-looking Mr. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley was sitting at the table, looking as though she had been crying. Ginny quickly glanced back at Harry, wondering what his reaction to Percy would be. He seemed calm, yet there was a cold, hostile look in his green eyes.

A moment later, Fred and George appeared in the kitchen. They took one look at Percy, and their facial expressions went from shocked to angry quicker than lighting.

"I thought I smelled dung from upstairs," Fred said, not bothering to keep his voice down.

"What are _you _doing here?" George asked, throwing Percy a dirty look. "Don't you have _work_ to do at the _Ministry_?"  


"Fred, George_, _that's_ enough_!" Mr. Weasley said sharply. He looked more tired and old than Ginny had ever seen him before. "Percy came back to talk to us, and I think we ought to hear him out." 

Percy cleared his throat and said, in a very formal voice, "I came to apologize. The Ministry knows about --- You-Know-Who returning, and that Dumbledore had been right all along. I was wrong to say… all the things I said to you." He paused. "I hope that you can all forgive me."

There was silence. Ginny didn't know what to say to Percy. On one hand, it was a rare occasion that Percy actually would admit he was wrong, a big step for him. And he sounded so sincere. Besides, he was her brother, and their family needed to be together, especially now that You-Know-Who was back… 

Yet she couldn't simply forget that he hadn't been there when their family needed his support.

Finally, Ginny's mother stood up. "Of course you can move back in, dear," she said softly, moving close to him. "But…"

"But it's not going to be as simple as that," Mr. Weasley continued wearily. He looked hard at his son. "We have never given you any reason not to trust us, Percy. The Ministry, on the other hand, hasn't always been the most reliable source. Why would you believe them over us?"

Percy bowed his head. "I don't know why," he said weakly. "I wasn't thinking…"

"_I _know why," Fred said in a harsh voice. "You were so excited that you were promoted to Junior Assistant to the Minister that you didn't want to listen to the truth!" 

"Fred…" Mr. Weasley warned.

"Well, it's true!" Fred burst out angrily. "You were willing to sell all of us out so that you could have your own authority at the Ministry! Did you honestly think we were going to welcome you back with open arms after that?"

"And how will we know something like this won't happen again?" George asked. "How can we can be sure that next time, you'll give us the benefit of the doubt instead of automatically thinking we're mad?"

"They have a point," Bill said, frowning. "You're going to have to earn our trust back before we can forgive you."

"I know," Percy said weakly. "And I want to help the Order. If there's anything I can do to help --- anything at all --- I'll do it."

Harry stepped forward. "I know how you can help," he said quietly.

Ginny exchanged a confused glance with Hermione. _What is he talking about? _She wondered. _How can Percy help?_

"You're still Junior Assistant to the Minister, aren't you?" Harry asked Percy.

Looking slightly apprehensive, Percy nodded.

"Good," he said. "Then maybe you can help clear Sirius's name."

Everyone stared at him, stunned. "Oh _Harry_," Hermione sighed, shaking her head sadly.

"Sirius?" Percy said in bewilderment. "You mean _Sirius Black_? The convict?"

As quickly as she could, Hermione explained how Wormtail had framed Sirius. She was about to tell him how he had been killed when Percy cut her off.

"Wait a minute," he said, looking shocked. "You --- You mean you all actually _believe _that cock-and-bull story?"

Harry glared at him. "It's not a story," he said through gritted teeth. "It's the truth!"

"Dumbledore and Ron told us last summer, after you left," Ginny said, backing him up. 

"Maybe if you had actually been with us, you would have known," Fred said coldly.

Ginny gave Fred a quelling look. "He's an innocent man," she went on. "I mean… he _was _an innocent man."

"The Death Eaters killed him the night Voldemort broke into the Ministry," Harry said in a hollow voice. Percy flinched at the sound of his name. "I want to clear his name. You can convince Fudge he was innocent… if he believes that Voldemort is back, then maybe he'll believe that Wormtail is still alive."

"I'm not sure if that will work, Harry dear," Mrs. Weasley said gently. "We'll need evidence…"

"Ask Dumbledore, then!" Harry yelled. "Ask the Death Eaters who were taken! Put them under Veritaserum, they'll tell Fudge that Wormtail was one of them!"

Percy shook his head in disbelief. "You cannot be serious! Peter Pettigrew is dead! Sirius Black killed him!"

"It's all true, Percy," Hermione said. "We were all with Harry that night three years ago. Professor Lupin was with us too. You can ask him…"

"You'd trust a _werewolf_?" Percy gasped.

"Percy, listen to me!" Harry exploded. "If I wasn't lying about Voldemort coming back, why would I be lying about this?"

Percy didn't say anything; he stared hard at the ground. 

"Oh, I get it," Harry said, shaking with rage. "You still think I'm insane, don't you?"

"Harry, calm down!" Ginny said firmly. "That isn't true," she added, turning to Percy. "Is it, Percy?" she asked quietly, her heart sinking.

Percy didn't respond. He didn't need to; the way his eyes didn't meet Harry's eyes said everything.

"_Percy!_" Hermione exclaimed, shocked and angry. "After everything that happened last year, after finding out that every word he said was true, you _still _think he's lying?"

"I knew it!" Fred said furiously. "You haven't changed at all! The only reason you believe that Voldemort's back is because the _Ministry_ believes it! You don't care about making up with us at all! The only thing you care about is your precious rules!"

"Well, at least I _follow_ the rules, Fred!" Percy shot back, his face reddening. "I've heard all about your little escapades --- not only did you cause complete _chaos _at Hogwarts, but you ran off without even finishing your last year!"

"Damn straight!" Fred replied with fierce pride. 

"Get off your high horse, Percy, you aren't Mum!" George snapped. "At least _we_ can stand up for what's right, unlike _certain_ people who hide behind protocol like ruddy cowards!"

"Boys, _stop it_!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, moving between the twins and Percy. "Can't we just start over and be a family again?"

"Not until he starts deflating that fat, stupid head of his!" Fred snarled.

"I'm not going to take this!" Percy said angrily. "I'm going back to London! It was a mistake to come back here!"

"Fine!" Fred bellowed. "Good riddance!" He and George stormed away.

"Percy, wait!" Mrs. Weasley cried, but before she could do anything to stop him, Percy Disapparated. 

With a soft moan, Mrs. Weasley sank into her chair, tears pouring out of her eyes. "There, now, Molly," Mr. Weasley said softly, patting her arm. "It's all right --- he'll come round…" 

Bill kept glaring at the spot where Percy Disapparated. Ginny distinctively heard him mutter, "Stupid git," before he going over to comfort his mother.

Ginny and the others watched on sadly. _I almost thought things were going to get better, _she thought miserably. _But now things can't possibly get any worse…_

Needless to say, she was wrong. After all, her family wasn't the only ones who were going through a rough time at the moment….

To be continued…


	3. Dreams and Despair

Author's Note: I put a little reference to what a lot of the people on Gryffindor Tower believed about Sirius, as a tribute to the good times that we all had on that website. Long live the Queens of H/G.

****

Chapter Three: Dreams and Despair

Harry couldn't stand to watch any longer. He left the kitchen and slowly trudged upstairs. 

_Ron was right,_ he thought bitterly. _I shouldn't have even talked to Percy! What was I thinking? There was no way he'd ever help clear Sirius's name!_

He went into Ron's room where he found Fred and George, still red-faced and angry looking. Ron was lying on his bed, glaring at the ceiling. Harry knew without being told that Ron had heard about the fight. A few moments later, Ginny and Hermione came into the room. Hermione looked sad, while Ginny looked livid.

"How's Mum?" George asked Ginny.

"She's still crying," she replied. "I can't believe Percy just left like that…"

"_I _can," Ron said flatly. "If he ever sets foot in this house again, I'll flay him to within an inch of his life!"

"_Ron!_" Hermione gasped, horrified. "Don't talk like that; he's your own brother!"

"Well, I don't need a brother who treats us like dirt and goes around thinking that my best friend is crazy!" Ron yelled, sitting up. 

"For a moment back there, I actually thought that he was really sorry," Ginny said through gritted teeth. "How could he be such an _idiot_? I mean, shouldn't we mean _more _to him than his precious Ministry?"

"Like I said before, we're well rid of him," Fred said coolly. "As of right now, I don't give a damn whether he moves back home or not."

George and Ron nodded in agreement.

"Well, whatever happens, I just hope that your parents will be all right," Hermione said sadly. "They don't deserve to go through this…"

There was a brief moment of silence. "Look, Percy's not worth all this," Fred said, standing up. "Why don't you lot come to our room? We're developing a new product for the shop --- Tar Balls!"

"Tar Balls?" Hermione repeated faintly.

"Yeah, it's this little ball that you throw on the ground and it spills out tar! Anyone who steps in it will be stuck for hours! Though it does make a big mess; the stains still won't come out of our carpet…"

"Maybe I'll use it on Malfoy when we get back to school," Ron said, managing a small grin.

"Not a bad idea," George said thoughtfully. "Pity we're finished at Hogwarts --- I would have liked to use some of our new products on the Slytherins… Anyway, do you want to come test it out?"

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny shook their heads. "No thanks," Ron mumbled.

"All right," Fred said. "See you at supper." He and George walked out of the room.

Harry sighed. "I hate this," he muttered.

"I know," Ginny nodded. "I wish there was something I could do to help Mum and Dad…"

"No… not that," he said. "I mean, I _do _want to help them… but I hate that I can't do anything to prove that Sirius was innocent!"

Everyone stared at him.

"Well, it isn't fair!" Harry said angrily. "After everything he went through; growing up with a family of Dark wizards, being framed, spending twelve years of his life in Azkaban, having to live on the run… and everyone else still thinks he was a murderer! They don't even know that he's dead!

"And meanwhile, Wormtail is still a _hero_!" Harry went on, spitting out the last word in disgust. "He and that cow who killed him are free as birds! What kind of justice system is that?"

Hermione gave Harry a sympathetic look. "It _is_ unfair," she said gently. "But there's nothing we can do about it. No one will believe Sirius was innocent unless the Ministry catches Wormtail."

"And that's about as likely as Percy ever coming back," Ron said bitterly.

***

Dinner that night was a subdued affair. Although Mrs. Weasley had cooked her specialties, Harry hardly ate any of it. Neither did anyone else, for that matter. 

Mrs. Weasley looked utterly miserable, her eyes red and puffy from crying, while Ron, Bill, and the twins kept glaring at their plates. Mr. Weasley looked as if he'd aged a decade or two. 

After forcing down a few bites of food, Harry excused himself from the table and went up to Ron's bedroom, where he lay stretched out on his camp bed. 

He ached for the Weasleys. They were some of the first people who had ever treated them him kindly. They didn't deserve to be put through such hell…

Harry felt a sudden rush of hatred for Percy. _The lousy git…he came back to apologize, and he didn't even mean it! How could he be so cruel to his family? If they were **my **family, I wouldn't abandon them!_

Then again, if Harry had been one of the Weasleys, he would have been hurt even more by Percy's actions.Wouldn't he? He could barely imagine feeling any worse than he was right now.

He sighed wearily. For the millionth time that summer, he wondered why Sirius had to be the one to die. Sirius was his godfather… his friend…

No, he'd been more than that; he was the only connection Harry had ever had to his parents, aside from Professor Lupin. In fact, he was he'd been the closest thing that Harry had to a parent. He knew that the Weasleys considered him part of their family, but the simple fact remained that they _weren't_ his family. 

Sirius had been Harry's only hope, futile as it was, to escape from the Dursleys… Well, he _had _been, until Dumbledore had told him that Harry had to remain in the Dursleys care, because Aunt Petunia's blood protected him against Voldemort.

Harry clenched his fists in anger. It wasn't fair! Just because his mother _happened _to have a bigoted excuse for a human being as a sister, he had to endure the Dursleys' presence every summer! 

__

Why me? he wondered miserably. _Why did I have to be the one who has to defeat Voldemort? Because of Bellatrix, Kreacher, and Wormtail, Sirius is gone! They took away from me!_

A powerful fury enveloped him. If he could only get his hands on one of them…

__

You'd do what? an annoying voice in his head asked loftily. _You couldn't even do perform the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix!_

Bellatrix's loathsome voice rang out in his mind, mocking him. _"Never used an Unforgivable, have you, boy? You need to **mean** them, Potter! You need to really want to cause pain --- to enjoy it --- righteous anger won't hurt me for long…"_

_I **want** to mean them, _Harry thought mutinously. _I want you to feel it so badly that you'll die from it! _

He rolled over on his side and tried to sleep, but his anger kept him awake. He not only cursed Bellatrix, but also Kreacher, who had probably been let off scot-free, since he was a poor little _victim _in Dumbledore's eyes. And he especially cursed Wormtail --- it had been _his_ fault Sirius had been in such a mess to begin with. 

Harry was aware of nothing except these vindictive, bitter thoughts that kept running through his mind until he finally dozed off…

__

He was back in the Department of Mysteries, standing in front of front of the arch with the ragged veil. It was a place he had often visited in his fantasies, hoping that Sirius was still there.

The veil was fluttering slightly, as though a faint breeze was blowing through it. A hand emerged from behind the veil, and moved it back, revealing a familiar, tall, dark-haired figure…

"Sirius?" Harry called out, hardly daring to believe it. 

"'Lo, Harry!" Sirius said, waving at him.

"But --- how --- I thought you were dead!" Harry sputtered.

Sirius let out his usual laugh like a bark. "Dead? I only fell through the veil, you little git! You should see what's behind it… they have a mall!" He held up a shopping bag that was full of assorted items. 

"What?" Harry exclaimed, utterly bewildered by this.

Sirius extended his hand towards Harry. "Come on, there are a whole lot of girls I met there." As he spoke, Harry caught a glimpse of several female faces peeking out from behind the veil. They beamed at the sight of him. Strangely enough, they appeared to be wearing tiaras. 

"I've told them all about you, and they'd really like to meet you," Sirius went on, grinning wickedly.

Harry smiled and grabbed Sirius's hand. It was true; Sirius was alive, and everything was going to be all right! He felt himself being pulled into the veil.

Suddenly, Sirius vanished, and Harry found himself seated in a darkened room, illuminated by candles. It seemed familiar to him, though he couldn't remember why…

A hooded figure was cowering before him. "Y-You s-summoned me here, My Lord?" he stammered.

"Yes," Harry replied in a high, cold voice that was not his own. "I have an assignment for you, Wormtail. Now that those fools at the Ministry have finally acknowledged my presence, I will need to keep a more watchful eye on my enemies --- especially that meddling Dumbledore..." 

"W-What do you want me to do, Master?" Wormtail whispered, trembling.

"I need you to spy on a few of Dumbledore's friends," Harry said, pointing a long, pale finger at Wormtail. "Find out everything you can about what Dumbledore is planning. These people are very close to Dumbledore, so you will be sure to hear at least something of use to me."

"But --- why are you asking me do this, My Lord?" Wormtail asked timidly.

Harry rose out of his chair and drew out his wand from his robes. "You dare to question my orders?" he hissed, pointing his wand at Wormtail. 

"No! No!" Wormtail shrieked, backing away from him. "I was merely asking…why not send someone else to do it?" 

Harry lowered his wand. "True," he said. "I wouldn't have normally chosen a sniveling idiot such as yourself for such an assignment… but you are already acquainted with these members, so you will know where they live.

"However," he added, advancing on Wormtail, "since they already know that you're an Animagus, you are to keep out of sight. And if you make the slightest blunder," he said, pointing his wand at Wormtail again, "rest assured, I won't spare your worthless little life this time. I have no use for servants who can't follow my orders to my specifications --- just ask Bella..." He let out a high, cruel laugh that echoed throughout the room.

Harry jerked away, gasping for breath. He had done it again; he had entered Voldemort's mind. It was the first one dream he'd had since Sirius had died…

__

Was this dream real? Harry wondered._ Or was it another trick from Voldemort?_

Yet through his horror and confusion, he felt grim satisfaction. Even if it _was_ another false vision, there was one thing he knew for sure that was true…

Bellatrix Lestrange was dead.

To be continued…

__

__


	4. A Messenger from Beyond

****

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, and my beta reader Anne, who has been a tremendous source of help on this fic so far. If anyone's interested, can you please read and review my original story on fictionpress.net, entitled, "Warriors of Rowan"? 

I've revised my ideas for this plot a little bit, so I hope you like the changes!

****

Chapter Four: A Messenger from Beyond

The overall mood of The Burrow hadn't changed the following morning. When Ginny came down for breakfast, for once, her mother wasn't in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on breakfast. Indeed, it took quite some time for her to arrive, and when she finally did come down, she was wiping her eyes.

"Now, Molly dear, why don't I fix breakfast?" Mr. Weasley suggested hastily. Usually, he would have left for work at this time, but he didn't seem willing to leave his wife in such distress.

"No, no, I can handle it myself," Mrs. Weasley said in a hoarse voice. But she was sniffling as she got out the pots and pans.

Ginny felt a surge of anger towards Percy. Her mother had always been supportive of Percy. She was always proud of his high marks and his achievements. And _this _was how he treated her in return?

Harry, Hermione, and her brothers came downstairs shortly afterward. "Oh, let me help you with that, Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione said, looking concerned.

"No, it's no trouble at all, dear," Mrs. Weasley replied, stifling a small sob.

"Come on, Mum," Fred said consolingly. "He isn't not worth being upset over. You don't see him crying over us, do you?"

"Yeah," George agreed. "He's being a selfish git. We don't need him!"

"Boys!" Mrs. Weasley cried. "Don't talk about him like that; he's your brother!"

"Well he doesn't care about _us_!" Fred retorted. "Why should we care about him?"

"How can you even say that!" Mrs. Weasley shouted angrily. "Of course he cares about us --- we're his family! Now I don't want to hear another word against him from any of you!" 

"Mum, face facts!" Fred snapped. "If Percy really cared about us, he never would have left in the first place!"

"And what about _us_?" George asked out. "_We're_ still here… doesn't that matter to you?"

Mrs. Weasley burst into tears and ran out of the room. Mr. Weasley glared at Fred.

Ginny and the others thought it would be wise if they just skipped breakfast in order to avoid the row between Mr. Weasley and the twins. They retreated to Ron's room, where Ron and Hermione started another game of wizarding chess. However, neither side had his heart in it. Ron was so angry that he couldn't concentrate on his moves, and even Hermione seemed too upset to play.

Through her fury, Ginny couldn't help but notice that Harry had been acting very subdued during breakfast. That wasn't anything new; up until the other day, he hadn't spoken to any of them all summer. Still, she had started to think that Harry was beginning to open up after her conversation with him. Clearly, she had been wrong.

Even more, she saw a strange, unfocused look in his eyes, as though he was deep in thought about something.

"Harry, are you all right?" Ginny asked him, concerned. "You look a little pale."

"I'm fine," Harry said in an odd, flat voice. "Just still thinking about yesterday, that's all…"

Moments later, Fred and George stormed in, looking extremely harassed.

"Why did Dad tell us off?" George asked indignantly. "We only said the truth! We're still here, but it doesn't matter to Mum! All she can think about is Percy!"

"Well, _I _think you were being horrible to your mother!" Hermione replied hotly. "She's going through enough at the moment without you making things harder!"

"Hermione, put yourself in our place, won't you?" Ron snapped. "Wouldn't be angry if he was _your _brother? I hate seeing Mum broken up like this… she's always thought the world of Percy. She always told us, _'Why can't you be more like Percy?' 'Percy's always been well behaved!' 'Percy never would have done that!' _Well, Percy's just proved that he isn't the perfect little angel Mum always thought him to be, and no matter how much trouble we've been in, we never would have left Mum and Dad like that!"

"That's no excuse for them to yell at her like that!" Hermione said fiercely. "She loves all of you, not just Percy --- even if you act like prats!"

"Whose side are you on anyway?" Ron snarled.

"Will you two SHUT _UP_?" Harry yelled. The room fell silent. Everyone stared at him. Ron and Hermione both looked highly offended.

"Isn't there enough going on without you two going at it?" he went on irritably. "I don't know how anyone else puts up with it!" Looking as though he couldn't stand to be there another second, he stood up and stormed out of the room.

Ron stared after him and let out a sigh. "Great, now he's blowing up at us again."

"Well, he's right!" Ginny snapped. "We shouldn't start turning on each other, especially now."

Fred nodded. "Don't be too hard on him," he said softly. "He's going through a rough time."

"I know he is, but he's making it even harder than he should be!" Hermione pointed out. "We all miss Sirius. He could make an effort to at least talk to us about it!"

"And besides, _we're_ going through a rough time too," Ron said irritably. "He's not the only one with problems, you know."

"I tried to tell him that the other day," Ginny said, suddenly remembering.

"Did he listen?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," Ginny said thoughtfully. "Before Percy came, he looked like he might have started talking about it…" She fell silent, remembering what Harry had told her: _"You wouldn't understand…"_

But despite growing out of her crush on him, she still cared about Harry as much as the others did. She wanted to help him. And maybe if she tried, she _could _help him somehow.

"I think you should keep trying," Hermione suggested. "He can't shut himself away from us forever."

"What about you and Ron?" Ginny inquired. "You're his best friends."

"I think after what happened, we're all friends here," Hermione replied calmly.

"That's right," George agreed. "You remember what Dumbledore told us when You-Know-Who came back: we're stronger when we're united."

***

With George's words fresh in mind, Ginny walked out of the room caught and caught sight of Harry, who was sitting on the stairs. "Mind if I sit with you?" she asked him.

"No, but if you're going to start on me for losing my temper…" Harry started to say.

"Save your breath," Ginny interrupted coolly. "Yes, you shouldn't have yelled at them, but I agree with you."

Harry looked taken aback. "You do?"

"Of course," she replied shortly, sitting down next to him. "They _do_ fight all the time, and it drives me mad too."

Harry looked relieved. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so." He rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Didn't sleep well last night?" Ginny asked.

"Not really," he said, sighing.

There was a brief pause. "Do you have nightmares about it?" she asked quietly. "Sirius, I mean?"

He stared at her, seemingly unsure of what to say. 

"It's all right if you do," she reassured him. "I had loads of nightmares about You-Know-Who after my first year. I still do sometimes, now that he's back," she added.

He stared at her for a moment. "I do have dreams about it," he admitted slowly. "Only --- they aren't nightmares… because somehow, he always gets out of the veil. And there's always some explanation of what was behind there. They're really odd ones, actually. Like a couple of nights ago, I dreamt that pink elephants came floating out of the veil. And last night, there was a shopping mall behind it."

Ginny giggled. Harry glared. "It isn't funny!" he snapped. "Every time I see Sirius… I think that he's really alive…"

"No, no, that isn't funny," Ginny said quickly, shaking with mirth. "But really --- _a shopping mall_? _Pink elephants_?" 

The corners of Harry's mouth twitched. "Well, yeah, it _is_ kind of funny," he said awkwardly. A grin spread across his face --- the first real smile Ginny had seen from him all summer. 

They stared at each other for a split second. Then they both burst into laughter. "I don't really know where that stuff comes from," Harry chuckled. "I don't even _like _shopping, and I don't think Sirius did…"

Suddenly, his smile vanished. There was a clouded look in his eyes. "What?" Ginny asked, alarmed. "What is it?"

"_Did_," Harry said faintly. "Now I'm going to have to say that whenever I talk about Sirius." He looked down at the ground. 

Ginny put a hand on his shoulder. "Harry, you might not believe this right now, but it does get better," she said gently.

Harry snorted. "Yeah, right."

"It does," Ginny insisted.

"Have _you_ ever lost someone you cared about?" he asked sharply.

"No, not really," she confessed. "I mean, my grandparents died… but that was before I was even born."

"Then how do you know it gets better? You don't even know what it's _like_." 

Ginny sighed. "I guess I don't. Only people say that over time, the people you care about ---…" She struggled to put it into words. "Well, they become a part of you. And when you think about them, you'll remember the good times you had with them."

"I didn't have too many good times with Sirius," Harry said bitterly. "He was always on the run…"

"What about Christmas last year, when we were all at Grimmauld Place?" Ginny asked. "Didn't we have a good time?"

"Oh… yeah," Harry said, remembering. "That was the first time I ever saw him really happy... singing Christmas carols at the top of his lungs… decorating the house…"

"He must have really loved Christmas," Ginny said fondly.

"Maybe… I don't think he enjoyed Christmases with his family when he was young." 

The two of them fell silent. "I'm going to go outside for a while," Harry said heavily, getting to his feet. "Erm --- thanks for listening."

"It's no problem," Ginny replied simply. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm always around…"

Harry managed to smile again. "Thanks," he muttered, and he descended the staircase.

Ginny sighed. _At least he's starting to talk, _she thought to herself. _And I made him smile. That's certainly a start._

***

The day just seemed to drag on for Harry. His talk with Ginny had lifted his spirits slightly, but his mind still lingered on Sirius and the dream he'd had…

He sat in the Weasleys' garden, deep in thought. Suppose it wasn't another trick from Voldemort... suppose Wormtail really was spying on a member of the Order at this very second. He wondered if he should tell anyone about it.

But whom should he tell?

The first and most obvious choice would be Dumbledore. However, after the events of the previous year, Harry wasn't sure if he could tell him anything ever again. How could he trust someone who had been keeping so much from him his whole life?

Then he thought of Ron and Hermione. He knew exactly what would happen if he told them. Not only would Hermione think that it was another trap, she would also start berating him for not closing his mind… 

His insides gave a squirm of guilt. If he had closed his mind better, he wouldn't have fallen for Voldemort's trap, and Sirius wouldn't have gone after him. 

The other members of the Order would probably tell him the exact same thing. So overall, there was no one he felt he could tell.

But part of him --- a large part of him --- thought that he should keep his mouth shut for another reason. If he kept his mind open, maybe he could find out where Wormtail was…

A pleasant, cool breeze was blowing in Harry's face. He yawned. He hadn't got much sleep after the dream he had last night, having spent most of the night thinking about the apparent murder of Bellatrix Lestrange.

_One down, _he couldn't resist thinking before he closed his eyes…

_He was back in the Department of Mysteries, standing in front of the arch again. He could hear voices whispering incoherently behind the veil. _

"Is anyone there?" Harry asked aloud. The whisperings were growing louder, though not loud enough for him to understand the words. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the veil.

To Harry's disappointment, it wasn't Sirius this time. The figure was a tall, thin-looking witch. She had lank, blonde hair and eyes that seemed to big for her face. Her face bore such a woebegone expression that made her resemble a banshee.

"I bring you a message from the Other Side," she said in a deep voice.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded. "Are you --- did you come from that veil?"

The witch nodded. "Years ago, I found this veil…I don't remember how or why, however. I only remember tripping and falling into it. I have been there ever since."

"What is it?" Harry asked shakily. "Where does it lead to? Please --- I lost someone there… can you help me bring him back?"

The woman shook her head. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to help you. The person you lost is gone to you."

"What do you mean?" Harry demanded angrily. "You're from that place, aren't you? You came out of it! Get him out of there!"

"I did," the woman replied, "but even if he could escape, it wouldn't do any good. The veil is a gateway to a place of neither heaven nor hell. It is merely an empty space between life and death --- a limbo, if you will. Those who enter the realm lose their sense of time and the memories of the life they once had. For them there is only existence. Their fate is one worse than death; they are doomed to linger there until the end of time."

Harry was stunned. If what she said was true… he tried to imagine Sirius wandering around another dimension for eternity, unable to find true peace or happiness, and he was unable to bear.

"Be glad," the woman said softly.

"Glad?" Harry repeated. "GLAD? WHY SHOULD I BE **GLAD**? THERE'S NOTHING TO BE HAPPY ABOUT!"

"Maybe not," the woman replied, "but at least your friend won't have to endure the memories of pain and suffering. He had many, I assume?"

Shaking with grief and rage, Harry nodded once.

"It is **you** that has to suffer," she went on. "It will be so powerful that you feel as though you will die of it. It will wear you down, make you want nothing but an end to sorrow." She paused and looked him directly in the eyes. "You want it to end, don't you?" 

"Yes," he whispered, his eyes burning.

Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but Harry could have sworn he saw her large eyes gleam. "A powerful rage I sense in you," she said. "I have the feeling this man's demise was no accident." She looked at him closely. "You want revenge for this man."

Harry nodded again. How did this woman know so much? Perhaps she was an expert in Legilimency and could see his memories…

"I can give it to you," she said.

Harry was bewildered. "Give what to me?" he asked.

"An end to the pain, and the power to take revenge," she said quietly. "That is what you want, isn't it?"

Harry stared at her. Indeed, he wanted nothing more than those two things. He would be able to avenge Sirius and no longer have to feel all this anguish… Still, something didn't seem quite right to him.

"What's the catch?" he asked suspiciously.

"There is none," the woman said simply. "I will you give you my power. It will end your suffering and make you strong enough to annihilate his killers."

Harry took a step back from her. "Annihilate? Wait a minute… I don't want to be a killer."

The woman gave him a piercing look. "You don't? You'd only be giving them what they deserve. And what will happen to them if you don't take action? Wait around until justice catches up with them?"

That was true…the Ministry would never be able to catch Wormtail since they refused to believe he was still alive. And Dumbledore wouldn't do anything to punish Kreacher. He felt that the wretched elf had suffered enough…

But was Harry really willing to kill for Sirius's sake? Sirius wouldn't have wanted him to do that, would he?

"I… don't think I'm interested," Harry said slowly, backing away from her.

The woman stared at him for a moment. "Suit yourself," she said in an indifferent tone. "If you think you can just stand the pain of loss and let the murderers get off scot-free, go ahead. But an opportunity such as this only comes along every once in a while."

Harry hesitated, considering her words.

"If you change your mind, my offer still stands," the woman said, turning towards the veil. "Until then, I must return."

"Wait!" Harry shouted. "Say I do change my mind… how will I find you?"

The woman turned to face him. A slight smile crossed her face. "Oh, don't worry," she said softly. "**I'll** be the one to find you."

She stepped into the veil and vanished without a trace.

To be continued…

__


	5. Ties That We Bind, Ties That We Break

****

Chapter Five: Ties That We Bind, Ties That We Break

The mysterious dream remained a constant subject on Harry's mind when he awoke late the next morning. The possibilities of it seemed endless…

Had the woman been real? Or had she been another fantasy from his grief-riddled mind? And if she had been real, was it wise to reject her offer? 

_You missed your big chance, _a voice in his head taunted. _All that talking about what you'd do if you'd get your hands on Wormtail and Kreacher, and when the opportunity came, what do you say? 'Oh, sorry, I don't want to be murderer.' You're an idiot!_

I don't want to be a murderer, Harry thought. _That would make me just like them…_

Oh, really? the voice asked slyly. _Well, what about the prophecy? "Neither can live while the other survives," remember? That means that either Voldemort will kill you, or you'll kill him. If **you're** the one who is going to kill Voldemort one day, you'll be a murderer anyway. _

That isn't true! Harry thought angrily.

_What did you think is going to happen? _the voice retorted. _Thought that Voldemort would just die of old age? _

No, I hadn't, Harry thought. He hadn't really considered his options; he'd been trying to get over the initial shock that his entire life might be predicted for him. Yet now he couldn't help but wonder… if he did end up killing Voldemort, would that make him a murderer too?

__

Face it… either you're going to kill or be killed, the voice pressed on._ Either way, you lose, so what does it matter?_

"Hey --- Harry!"

"Huh?" Harry muttered groggily. He sat up on his camp bed. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were standing in the doorway.

"We let you sleep in for a bit," Ron explained. "You looked dead tired. Did you sleep okay?"

"Fine," Harry lied. He saw Ginny staring at him. From the way she looked, he knew that she didn't believe him one bit. She'd probably confront him about it later, but Harry wasn't about to tell her about the dream.

"Well, anyway, Professor Lupin is here," Hermione said. "He's downstairs talking to Mum… he came to see how you were doing."

Harry groaned inwardly. Just what he needed --- another concerned person was checking on him. Ordinarily, he would have been glad to see Professor Lupin, but unfortunately, Lupin was Sirius's best friend, and a conversation with him would eventually result in talking about Sirius.

Perhaps some of his discomfort was evident to the others. "How about we play a game of Quidditch after you talk to him?" Ron suggested hastily. "We haven't played all summer…"

Harry shook his head. "Sorry, but I don't fancy playing right now," he said dully. 

Everyone gaped at him. "_You_ don't want to play _Quidditch_?" Hermione asked incredulously. "But you love it!"

"Yeah, don't you want to do some catching up after Umbridge banned you last year?" Ron asked.

Harry sighed. "Not right now, Ron." Quidditch reminded him painfully of Sirius. Nearly three years before at Hogwarts, Harry had caught sight of the large, black dog hiding in the stands, watching him playing Quidditch… 

And now he was gone forever.

"You can't just sit in here for the whole day!" Hermione pleaded. 

"Come on, it will be fun," Ron said. "It'll get your mind off things!" He let out a yelp as Ginny elbowed him in the ribs.

Harry's temper flared up. So they were trying to get him to stop thinking about Sirius? 

"I'll think about it, okay?" he said through gritted teeth, determined not to lose his temper. Actually, he had no intention of even considering it, but it was the only thing he could think of that would get them to leave him alone.

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny glanced at each other. "All right," Ginny said, looking a bit skeptical. "See you later." They left the room.

Reluctantly, Harry got dressed and went down to the kitchen, where he found Mrs. Weasley sitting at the table, looking nearly as bad as she had yesterday. Professor Lupin was sitting next to her. He, too, looked paler and older than ever. Harry knew that his appearance had nothing to do with the full moon.

"Oh --- good morning, Harry dear," Mrs. Weasley said in a slightly strained voice. "I saved you some breakfast… do you want anything?"

"No, thank you," Harry said quickly. He wasn't at all hungry, and he didn't want Mrs. Weasley trouble herself.

"Right," Mrs. Weasley said weakly. "Well --- I'll just leave you two alone to talk then." She hurried out of the kitchen.

Harry sat down across from Lupin. For a while, there was silence. It seemed as though neither of them knew exactly what to say to each other.

Finally, Lupin spoke. "How have you been, Harry?"

Harry sighed. "Not so good," he admitted. "Everything's a big mess. Percy's got everyone riled up… and S…"

He froze. He almost said Sirius's name. Lupin, however, seemed to know where he was heading.

"Molly told me what happened," he said quietly. "You tried to get Percy to help clear Sirius's name, and he refused. The Ministry still thinks he's a murderer."

"What about the Order?" Harry demanded. "You --- Moody --- Tonks --- Kingsley --- Dumbledore --- didn't _any_ you of tell Fudge the night Voldemort broke into the Ministry?"

"We tried to," Lupin said tiredly, "only Fudge didn't believe a word of it. He refused to take the word of a werewolf and a couple of lunatics," he added bitterly. "And without Wormtail, we basically had no evidence for them."

"Well, isn't anyone trying to actually _catch_ Wormtail?" Harry asked angrily. "Don't you _want_ to clear his name?

"Of course I do," Lupin said flatly. "How could you think otherwise? Yet as we don't know where Voldemort's whereabouts are, we don't know where Wormtail is. He could be anywhere…"

Harry suddenly remembered the dream he'd had about Wormtail being assigned to spy on an Order member. However, something inside of him told him to keep quiet about it.

Lupin paused, looking more carefully at Harry. "You didn't contact any of the Order members while you were at your aunt and uncle's," he commented. "They weren't horrible to you, were they?"

"They're _always_ horrible," Harry said wearily. "But they left me alone mostly."

"Everyone at the Order has been really worried about you," Lupin went on, looking concerned. "Especially Dumbledore… he wanted to know if you were having any more of those dreams."

"Has he?" Harry said, glaring at the floor. Talking about Dumbledore was another thing Harry wasn't in the mood for.

"Yes, he has," Lupin replied, taken aback by Harry's tone. "I asked him if he wanted to check up on you himself… but he didn't want to, for some reason."

_Big surprise, _Harry thought dryly.

"But back to the dreams, Harry," Lupin said seriously, "have you been having them?"

"One," Harry said, thinking carefully. "Voldemort was talking to --- one of the Death Eaters."

Lupin stared at him intently. "And?"

A grim smile formed on Harry's face. "Bellatrix is dead."

"Oh," Lupin replied. His face bore no emotion. "Actually, I'm not surprised. Voldemort has been known to dispose of Death Eaters who can't carry out his orders to his liking. Bellatrix failed to bring that prophecy to him, so it was likely he'd get rid of her after that."

"What do you know about the prophecy?" Harry asked, alarmed.

"Just that Voldemort wanted it," Lupin replied calmly. "Dumbledore never said what it was about."

"Oh," Harry sighed, sinking back into his chair in relief. The less anyone else knew about the prophecy, the better.

"Was there anything else Voldemort talked about?"

"No," Harry lied. 

"Very well," Lupin said. Yet like Ginny, he looked as though he didn't fully believe Harry. "Anyway, Dumbledore was talking about you resuming Occulmency lessons when you go back to Hogwarts…"

"No way!" Harry said at once, rising from his chair. "I'm not doing any more of those lessons ever again!"

"It won'tbe with Snape, if that's what you're thinking," Lupin said firmly. "Dumbledore said that he'll take over teaching you."

Harry shook his head. "_No! _I don't want anything more to do with that stuff. Especially not with _him_!"

Lupin was shocked. "What's going on between you and Dumbledore?" he asked. "You've always been on good terms with him!"

"Not anymore," Harry said bitterly.

"Something happened, didn't it?" Lupin demanded. "Harry, you can tell me anything… what happened?"

"Why don't you ask him?" Harry retorted. "Or does he keep secrets from the Order, too?"

"Well, whatever is going on between you two, you're just going to have to get over it," Lupin said sharply. "There's nothing more important than closing your mind --- so that Voldemort can't trick you again! So that _another_ person doesn't die trying to go after you!"

Silence. Harry stared at him in disbelief. Did Lupin blame him for Sirius's death?

"I'd better get going," he said shortly. "Take care of yourself --- and close your mind. Whenever you're ready to talk to me, you can find me at Grimmauld Place." With a pop, he Disapparated.

Harry stood there, frozen. It _was_ his fault, Harry knew that… but he didn't think that Lupin would think that too…

Feeling even worse than earlier, Harry slowly trudged out of the kitchen, only to find Ron and Hermione at the foot of the stairs.

"He's right, you know," Hermione said quietly.

Harry started sputtering. "What? Were --- were you two _listening_ to us?"

"We weren't eavesdropping," Hermione said calmly. "We could hear you yelling from all the way upstairs. Why didn't you tell us that you'd had another dream?"

"It was just Voldemort talking one of the Death Eaters!" he snapped. "It wasn't a big deal."

"Harry, I thought that after what happened, you would have worked on closing your mind!" Hermione admonished him. "Haven't you learned anything?"

"So you're saying that it's my fault too?" Harry asked, his eyes flashing. "Great, join the club, why don't you?"

"We don't think that it's your fault, mate," Ron said quickly, moving between the two. "Everyone gets duped at least once or twice…"

"You can't afford to let that happen again!" Hermione said angrily, ignoring Ron completely. "Unless you stop being such a stubborn idiot, V-Voldemort will trick you again, and someone else will probably have to pay for your mistake!"

"I never wanted anyone to die!" Harry bellowed, rage erupting inside of him. "Unlike your precious little house-elf, Kreacher!"

"_What?_"

"You heard me! He was the one who set me up in the first place, by telling Malfoy's mother about Sirius and me!"

"It wasn't his fault!" Hermione shouted, her eyes shining. "The Blacks treated him badly for so long --- they poisoned his mind!"

"Is that so?" Harry shot back. "What about Dobby? He worked for the _Malfoys_! They were just as horrible to him as the Blacks were to Kreacher! And in case you hadn't noticed, he never called anyone "Mudbloods" or "blood traitors"! _He_ never sold anyone out to the Death Eaters! 

"Did it ever occur to you, Hermione, that house elves aren't the victims you always thought they were? Do any of them, aside from Dobby, complain about their lives? They _like _being enslaved, for some strange reason! As far as I'm concerned, Kreacher helped Bellatrix kill Sirius!"

"Well, Sirius never treated him well either!" Hermione yelled. "I kept telling all of you to be nice to Kreacher, but did anybody listen to me? _No!_ If Sirius had been nicer to him, Kreacher wouldn't have gone to Mrs. Malfoy!"

White-hot fury consumed Harry at these words. "Are you saying that Sirius deserved what he got?" he asked in a dangerously low voice.

Hermione suddenly looked horrified. "Oh --- Harry --- I didn't mean…"

Harry cut her off. "No, I think I see now," he said coldly. "Your stupid house-elves mean more to you than your friends! Tell you what --- if one of them happens to sell you or your family out, don't come crying to me."

Without even stopping to look at the expression on her face, he stormed away.

***

Hours later, Harry was sitting alone outside, deep in the Weasleys' garden. Rain was pouring down from the sky, soaking him from head to toe, but Harry didn't care if he caught pneumonia. He didn't care about anything.

Mrs. Weasley had been the only person who had tried to bring Harry in, and he'd refused, point-blank. She had eventually left him alone. Harry supposed he'd brought that on himself with his rash treatment of Hermione. Still, he wasn't about to go back inside and apologize. Whether she meant to or not, she'd sided with Kreacher over Sirius. And she and Lupin both thought it was Harry's fault that Sirius died…

It _had _been his fault; there was no getting around it. Yet somehow, it felt even worse when two people he had known for a long time thought the same way. 

__

Why did you have to leave me, Sirius? Harry wondered miserably. Water was trickling down his face --- it was hard to tell whether it was rainwater or his own tears. _Now I don't have anyone!_

Never had he felt more alone. It seemed as though he was the only person in the world who thought that something should be done to help Sirius… although if what the strange woman in his dream spoke the truth, he was beyond help.

He drew up his knees to his chin and buried his face in his hands. This was the worst he'd felt in ages, including the first ten years of his life with the Dursleys. The pain so intense that he thought his heart would burst from it. 

Dumbledore said that his ability to feel was his greatest strength. This made no sense at all --- how could something that made him feel so weak and helpless be his greatest strength?

The woman's words kept echoing in his mind: _"You want it to end, don't you?"_

Yes, Harry thought dimly. _I want it to end…_

"I can give it to you…an end to pain and the power to take revenge. That's what you want, isn't it?"

Yes… that's what I want…but I don't want to kill…

Do I?

"You'd only be giving them what they deserve. And what will happen to them if you don't take action? Will you wait around until justice catches up with them?"

No, he wouldn't. After everything Sirius had done for him --- everything he sacrificed --- he wasn't just going to sit around and wait for Kreacher and Wormtail to get their comeuppance. 

No one else was going to help him…

__

I want to make them pay for what they did… I want to make them feel what they did to Sirius --- what they did to me…

He looked up from his hands. A hatred more powerful than he had ever felt was coursing through him.

He knew what he was going to do.

***

Moments later, Harry returned to The Burrow. Dinner had already been served --- the third meal he'd missed that day --- but he didn't feel the least bit hungry. No one was in sight. 

He went into the living room and lay down on the couch. There was no way that he would sleep in Ron's room tonight; he probably was furious with Harry for what he had said to Hermione…

Suddenly very tired, Harry closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep…

_He was back in the Department of Mysteries. The strange woman was standing in front the arch with the veil, exactly where she had been last time. _

"So you've returned," she said, as though she'd been expecting him.

"Yes," Harry replied. "I've decided _to take your offer_." _He hesitated. Was he really going to do this? What this really was a trap?_

No, his mind was made up. It was either this, or spend the rest of his life wallowing in misery while Wormtail and Kreacher got away with murder.

An eerie smile crossed the woman's face. "I knew you would. A rage as powerful as yours doesn't just fade away in time. But first, tell me the names of the murderers."

"Wormtail --- Peter Pettigrew is his real name --- and Kreacher, a house-elf." 

The woman nodded. "Good. Now give me your hands," she instructed.

_"What are you going to do?" Harry inquired._

"I'm going to give you my powers, and drain you of all painful emotions. The grief and sorrow will be nothing but a memory for you."

Harry nodded and extended his hands towards her. All uncertainties had vanished from his mind, leaving nothing except his desire to avenge Sirius…His hands touched hers.

All of a sudden, Harry felt his head explode with pain. He screamed, feeling as though part of his body was being ripped away… yet something was put back inside of him. Something wasn't his…something that was agonizing…

"Don't let go," the woman kept whispering, gripping him tightly. "This is all part of the process… it will all stop in a moment…"

Yet it didn't stop. Maybe he was making a mistake. **But then again, **Harry thought, before his world faded to black, **it's a little late to change my mind.**

To be continued…


	6. The Point of No Return

Author's Note: Okay, this is when things get really, _really _freaky and dark. You have been warned.

****

Chapter Six: The Point of No Return

_He was hiding in a filthy, darkened room. He didn't dare make a noise, or else someone would surely find him. He was waiting for someone to come…_

Just then, he heard a low voice muttering nearby. He clutched the knife in his hand. Someone had found him out!

A shadowy figure slowly entered the room. Curious, he peeked out of his hiding place to see who it was…

"No…" he whispered in disbelief. "It can't be… you're dead!"

Bellatrix Lestrange laughed at the sight of him. "Rumors of my demise have greatly been exaggerated!" She withdrew her wand from her robes. 

"YOU KILLED SIRIUS!" he screamed, pointing at her accusingly.

Rage pulsated out of every part of his body. **She killed Sirius, **he thought madly. **It's her fault that the Ministry won't clear his name! She killed him…**

"I'LL KILL YOU!" he screamed aloud. Without thinking twice, he leaped upon her, the knife raised. He pinned her to the ground, breathing heavily. 

Perhaps it had been the shock of him actually doing something, but Bellatrix did absolutely nothing to defend herself. Instead she just started screaming…

"Get off!" she screamed. "No, don't… I beg of you, have mercy…"

"Did you show any mercy to Sirius when you killed him?" he demanded furiously. "Well? DID YOU?"

He didn't let her finish. He reached for the knife, raised it as high as he could. She continued screaming…yet the screams didn't match her voice. They sounding oddly wheezy…and more high pitched. Too high pitched to be human…

But of all this, he didn't care. He brought the knife down. And down. And down again. Every plunge of the knife aroused a grim pleasure inside of him… 

__

***

The first thing that Harry was aware of when he awakened that his head was killing him. His scar was stinging painfully --- almost beyond endurance. The only other times it had been hurting this badly were when…

No, it couldn't be… 

Groggily, he opened his eyes. To his surprise, he wasn't lying on the sofa, but flat on his back on the living room floor. He must have rolled off it during the night…

He suddenly remembered the dream he'd had. He'd met the woman again and accepted her offer. Then she taken his hand, and then there had been nothing except a world of pain.

_What did she do to me? _he wondered. _Maybe it was only a dream after all._ He didn't feel any different from before… except for his aching head and a funny feeling in his stomach…

What had happened afterwards? He screwed up his face, trying to remember… he recalled hearing distant screams, and being someplace familiar… but where had it been? Who had been screaming?

_I'm letting these dreams get to me, _he thought, shaking his head. _It was just a dream. _

Harry sat up and was suddenly aware of something lying across his legs. He looked down and saw his Invisibility Cloak, covering him like a blanket. Strange, he didn't remember taking it out of his trunk any time during the summer…

And even stranger, his clothes were filthy; they were covered from head to toe in ashes. _How did that happen? _he wondered. _I wasn't anywhere near the fireplace..._

He glanced at the fireplace. There were ashy footprints leading from out of the hearth and stopped right where he was lying on the floor.

Harry's suspicions arouse. Was someone other than the Weasleys and Hermione in The Burrow? Had it been a Death Eater? Maybe someone had tried to kidnap him in the middle of the night, and someone else had stopped him…

No, that couldn't be right. If there had been a fight, the commotion would have certainly awakened him. Even if Harry had been tired, there was no way he would have slept through something like that.

But thinking about all of this made his head hurt more. Deciding to take a potion for his headache first, he reached out to pick up his cloak. He froze. His hands were covered with a dried, rusty-looking substance. Something that looked horribly like ---

_Oh…my…God…_

At once, Harry tried to think of a reasonable explanation. Maybe he'd scratched himself in his sleep… no, why would they be so bloody if it was just a scratch? He searched his arms for a cut. There was none.

Trying not to scream aloud, Harry looked out the window. The sun was beginning to rise, turning the sky a brilliant orange. Nobody else was awake yet… 

Quickly, he ran to the nearest loo, carrying the Invisibility Cloak with him. He frantically scrubbed his hands. Even when all traces of blood had been vanished, his hands still felt unclean. If it wasn't his blood, then it was bound to be someone else's…

The pain in his head reached such an intensity that he sank onto the floor and retched. Even afterwards, his head was still aching.

_All right, let's look at the facts, _he thought, breathing heavily. _I have a weird dream about a woman from the veil giving me her powers. I can't remember the rest of the dream, except for screaming… Then I wake up the next morning with my Invisibility Cloak out and blood on my hands. _

Oh God, what's happening to me? I must be going mad…

Something stirred in Harry's memory. Last Christmas, he'd been under the impression that Voldemort was possessing him, after witnessing an attack on Mr. Weasley from Voldemort's point of view. He'd hadn't been possessed --- not then, at least --- and Ginny's account of when she had been possessed years ago had convinced him of that fact…

_"I'd find myself somewhere and not know how I got there," _she had explained.

Only that was silly… Harry had been in the living room sleeping the whole time. At least that was what he _thought_…

His first thought was to go tell the Weasleys. Then again, what would he tell them? That he'd had a dream, in which he took an offer of revenge and awoke in the morning, covered in ashes and blood? What would they think?

Hermione would probably tell him that she'd been right, and he'd only got what he deserved (avoids repetition) for not practicing Occlumency. Ron and the others would be terrified of him. He couldn't tell them…

__

Well, what are you supposed to do then? a voice in his head asked. _You can't keep this secret for long. If you've hurt someone (and "hurt" is the best case scenario), then someone is going to find out. _

Suddenly, Harry heard a pop from the kitchen. "Arthur!" Lupin's voice called out frantically. "_Arthur! Molly!_ _Get down here, it's an emergency!_"

Footsteps came rushing down the stairs. "Remus? What is it?" he heard Mr. Weasley asked, alarmed. 

Fearing the worst, Harry slowly emerged from the loo and cautiously stepped into the kitchen. All of the Weasleys and Hermione were gathered in front of a stricken-looking Lupin. His face was pale and his eyes were wide with horror.

"What happened?" Mrs. Weasley asked fearfully. "Is it --- is it You-Know-Who?"

Lupin shook his head. "No… at least we don't _think_ it was."

"Well, then what happened?" Bill demanded.

Lupin took a deep breath and exhaled. "Kreacher is dead," he said grimly. "He was murdered last night."

The Weasleys gasped in unison. Hermione looked nothing short of horrified.

"H --- H-how d-did it h-happen?" she choked out.

"I have no idea," Lupin said heavily. "Tonks and I were patrolling the house, just in case the Death Eaters had discovered the Order's whereabouts… Moody usually does this, but he was on assignment with Dumbledore, trying to make more alliances with members of the Ministry; they don't fully trust us yet. 

"Anyway, I think we might have fallen asleep during patrol… in any case, the next morning, we found Kreacher's body in his room, along with this." Lupin drew something out of his robes. Harry's heart nearly stopped.

It was an extremely sharp kitchen knife, covered in blood. 

Just like his hand had been…

"Who could have done this?" Mr. Weasley whispered. "If it was a wizard, then why didn't they just use --- _Harry!_"

Harry was swaying unsteadily, feeling very dizzy. Ginny, who was standing directly in front of him, turned around and quickly grabbed his arm. He tried to steady himself, yet the horrifying revelation combined with the pounding in his head was enough to make him swoon.

"Are you all right, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked worried. "You look so pale… I _knew_ you'd catch your death if you stayed outside in the rain all night!"

"No…" Harry said hoarsely, shaking his head. "I'm fine." Pain was stabbing inside head. 

_Stabbed_. Just like Kreacher…

He felt Ginny's hand being placed on his forehead. "Mum, he's burning up!" she exclaimed.

"Get him upstairs to Ron's room!" Mrs. Weasley ordered. "Don't worry, dear, you'll be all right… you just need to lie down."

"Come on, Harry," Ginny said gently, leading from the room. "You'll be okay…"

_No, I won't, _Harry thought, as the full concept sank in. _Oh God, what did that woman do to me?_

Exactly what she told you she would, a nasty voice in his head replied. _The power to seek revenge… and you used it. You used Floo powder to go to Grimmauld Place during the night. You took your Invisibility Cloak to sneak past the Order members, and you killed Kreacher. He's dead --- isn't that what you wanted?_

No, I didn't! Harry thought desperately. He hated Kreacher, yes, but not enough to kill…

_You accepted the woman's offer! _the voice pointed out harshly. _You knew exactly what she meant by "taking revenge", and you were too full of anger to consider the consequences._

No --- I wouldn't --- ever!

You're a murderer. I wonder what Sirius would think…

Ginny suddenly stopped on the second floor, staring at him in shock. "Harry --- your scar!"

Trembling, Harry put a hand to his forehead, feeling something warm and sticky. _My scar's bleeding, _he thought dimly.

"Ginny…" he croaked, his knees buckling. "I think --- I've made --- a stupid mistake…"

"What is it?" she demanded, white-faced and terrified. "Tell me what's wrong!"

Just then, Harry's head exploded with pain… pain beyond all endurance. "What's… happening… to… me?" he managed to ask before collapsing to the ground.

***

__

Harry found himself yet again, in the Department of Mysteries. The woman stood in front of him. She looked mildly amused at the sight of him. "Back so soon?" she inquired, a smile playing on her lips.

"What did you do to me?" Harry demanded. 

"I gave you what you wanted," the woman replied smoothly. "You wanted to avenge your friend and I gave you the power."

"That wasn't what I wanted!" Harry shouted, paralyzed with fear. "I was angry --- I didn't want to kill anyone!" 

"Oh, but you did," the woman said, her eyes gleaming. "I could sense your great thirst for revenge… you asked me to give you the chance, and I did."

Harry shook his head desperately. "I didn't know what I was doing! I was asleep the whole time… I don't remember what happened! It was almost like…"

"Almost like you were being possessed, Potter?"

Harry froze. The woman's voice had suddenly become cold and high-pitched. "No…" he moaned, shaking his head again. "No… I didn't… I couldn't have been that stupid!"

"Oh, but you are." The woman vanished and in her place stood Voldemort himself. A triumphant smile twisted his snake-like face. "Through your folly, you've surrendered yourself to me."

"H --- How?" Harry stammered. "You --- you can't possess me! Dumbledore said that you couldn't stand to possess me because of my emotions!"

"I knew that you would be too **distraught **over your poor friend Black's death to try and close your mind," Voldemort answered, leering. As soon as I knew your mind was open, I came to you in the form of a woman with an offer of revenge."

"You tricked me!" Harry said, enraged. "What you said about the veil was a lie, wasn't it?"

"What is behind the veil, even I don't know, and I'd be more worried about your fate rather than Black's."

"Get out!" Harry shouted. "You can't stay in my body for long!" He concentrated his mind on Sirius. Voldemort, he knew, couldn't stay inside of him because of his emotions…

Yet instead of the sorrow and pain he'd felt for the past few months, he felt oddly numb.

"What's wrong, Potter?" Voldemort taunted, smirking. "Don't you remember the **other** part of the bargain?

"Oh no…" Harry muttered, the realization dawning on him.

"Yes," Voldemort cackled. "I, unlike you, learn from my mistakes. I knew that I couldn't possess you as long as those annoying feelings of yours stand in the way…so I offered to take away your grief of Black. You rejected your own feelings, as I had done willingly years ago…and now you're mine."

At once, Harry found himself wrapped tightly in the coils of a monster with gleaming red eyes. Every fiber of his being was writhing in agony. "Help me," he muttered desperately, hoping that someone could hear him. "Please…somebody… anybody…help me!"

"No one can help you now," Voldemort hissed into his ear. "Your stupidity has not only sealed your fate, but your friends as well. I'm going to kill them all, one by one…"

"NO!" Harry screamed. "DON'T HURT THEM! GET OUT OF MY BODY, YOU BLOODY BASTARD!"

"Oh, don't worry. I kept my promise… not only will you have your revenge, you also will feel no more pain… by the time I'm finished with you, you won't be able to feel anything ever again!"

Harry screamed in agony and despair as Voldemort let out a cold, cruel laugh. The room, and the world as Harry knew it, dissolved into darkness.

***

"Harry?" Ginny cried out in alarm. "Harry, what's wrong?"

Harry was lying unconscious on the floor. The blood from his scar was trickling down his face, which was deathly pale. He was twitching in an unnerving way. "_Help me_," she could hear him moaning. "_Please… somebody… anybody… help me!_"

"I'm _trying_ to!" Ginny shouted frantically. "What's happening to you?" She started slapping his face gently, trying to revive him. "Come on… wake up… it's going to be all right, I promise!"

The twitching worsened. He seemed to be in an incredible amount of pain. 

"MUM! DAD!" Ginny screamed, terrified. "EVERYBODY GET UP HERE! SOMETHING'S THE MATTER WITH HARRY!"

The Weasleys, Hermione, and Lupin came bounding up the stairs, just as Harry let out a horrible scream. "GET OUT OF MY BODY, YOU BLOODY BASTARD!"

"What happened?" Ron demanded. He dropped down to his knees next to Harry. "Harry! Wake up, mate!"

"I --- I don't know!" Ginny stammered. "His scar started bleeding and then…"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Harry's eyes snapped open --- only they _weren't _his eyes. Behind his glasses were bright red eyes with slits for pupils, glowing intensely. He opened his mouth, and a high-pitched voice started laughing triumphantly.

"Oh my God…" Lupin muttered, turning paler than he already was. "What's happened to him?" 

To continued…

__


	7. Possession

Disclaimer: I deliberately took some quotes from _The Exorcist_. I never actually saw the whole movie, but I've seen clips of it on TV. Hang on, because this story is about to get freakier. 

****

Chapter Seven: Possession

"Harry, what's wrong with you?" Hermione asked, terrified. "What's the matter with your ---?"

Before she could finish, Harry leapt to his feet, almost as though an invisible force had lifted him up. Smiling rather sinisterly, he raised his hand and pointed it at Hermione.

"HERMIONE, GET DOWN!" Ron shouted.

A blast of bright light shot out of Harry's palm and sped towards Hermione. Hermione screamed and jumped out of the way just as the blast hit the way and blew a hole in the wall.

"Harry, what the hell are you doing?" Ron demanded, approaching Harry angrily. "You nearly killed her!"

"No, Ron, that isn't Harry!" Lupin yelled. "Look at his eyes --- they aren't his!"

"He's right!" Ginny cried. "Harry wouldn't do a thing like that!" She gasped. "He's being controlled!"

Everyone stared at Harry, numb with shock. "Controlled?" Mrs. Weasley repeated faintly.

"But… that can't be!" sputtered Mr. Weasley. "It's impossible… how could that have happened?"

"I have to contract Dumbledore," Lupin said immediately. "He'll know what to do…"

"Nobody is going anywhere," Harry said coldly, in that strange, high-pitched voice. He raised his hand and pointed at Lupin. Lupin suddenly froze in place.

"I can't move!" he exclaimed. His eyes suddenly widened, as if he'd seen something that the others couldn't see. "Oh no…" he whispered. "Oh, God, no!"

Harry looked amused. "So you've worked it out?" he asked Lupin. "You're much quicker on the uptake than I thought you'd be." He made a clutching gesture in the air, and Lupin started choking. "Well, I guess that just means _you'll_ be the first to die."

__

"STUPEFY!" a voice suddenly screamed.

A jet of red light struck Harry and he collapsed. Mr. Weasley stood over him, his wand raised, looking grim. Lupin fell to his knees, gasping for breath. He looked shocked and livid.

"_Damn!_" he wheezed furiously, massaging his throat. He seemed unable to finish his sentences. "_I --- told --- him --- to --- clear --- his --- mind! Why --- didn't --- he --- listen!"_

"What do you mean, Remus?" Mrs. Weasley cried, looking alarmed. "What's wrong with him?"

Lupin got shakily to his feet. "He's not just being controlled; he's _possessed_."

"You mean… V-Voldemort?" Hermione faltered.

"Finally got through his mind," Lupin finished gravely. 

Everybody gasped in horror. Ginny felt as though the bottom had dropped out of her stomach. You-Know-Who --- the most feared Dark wizard of the century --- was in her house.

"You-Know-Who?" stammered Mrs. Weasley. "Here?"

"But what about the Occlumency lessons?" Mr. Weasley demanded. "He was supposed to be practicing!"

"There have been other things on his mind aside from that," Ron said grimly, white-faced. "What are we going to do?"

"Get Harry to a room and make sure he's _secured_," Lupin said, his voice trembling. "I'm going to go contact Dumbledore and the Order. We have to get him out of Harry's body before he causes harm to both him and us." He paused. "Only if this has anything to do with Kreacher's murder last night, then we may have already been betrayed."

***

Mr. Weasley and Bill dragged Harry to the master bedroom, the others anxiously following them. None of them were able to speak; their fear and shock were beyond words.

__

How could this have happened? Ginny wondered despairingly. _I knew Harry wasn't too keen on taking Occlumency lessons with Snape, and that he was having those weird dreams…what if they had something to do with this? Did You-Know-Who give him fake visions of Sirius so that he could gain control of his mind? _

And Lupin thought that Harry's possession him might have had to do with Kreacher's murder? _No, _she thought, attempting to reassure herself. _No, Harry would never do a thing like that. _Oh, yes, he hated Kreacher --- it was perfectly understandable after what had happened to Sirius --- but he'd never do a thing like that.

__

You think so? a nasty little voice inside her head asked. _Harry said it himself that he hated knowing that Sirius's murderers got away scot-free while the Ministry still thought he was a murderer. Maybe he decided to take matters into his own hands…_

Harry would **never** do a thing like that! she thought angrily. 

__

What about the things **you** did under You-Know-Who's influence?

But… that's different! she thought desperately._ Harry's so much stronger than I am…_

Are you sure you're not just letting your **affection** blind you? the voice replied slyly. 

Ginny felt her face grow hot with both embarrassment and anger. _Of course not! I got over him a long time ago! He's my friend now!_

Are you trying to convince **yourself** or **me**? 

Ginny ignored the voice, unwilling to dignify that question with a response. She was being stupid… arguing with _herself_, of all people…

Her mind returned to Harry. She couldn't help remembering how distant and angry he had been during the summer. His fight with Hermione… his unsettled rage against Sirius's murderers… Sirius's death _had _hit him hard, and after what he'd already been through, it might have been understandable that he'd acted would have acted that way. Still… what if that had been Voldemort all along? Voldemort could have possessed him while he was far away from the wizarding world, and chosen not to reveal himself until he was at The Burrow…

She shivered. She knew from experience how a person could be possessed and not know it. 

"Arthur…" Mrs. Weasley said hoarsely as Mr. Weasley and Bill conjured ropes and tied Harry's arms and legs to the bedposts. "Arthur, do you think it's true? You-Know-Who is in Harry --- in our house?"

"I don't know," Mr. Weasley replied wearily, checking to see if the ropes were secure, "but I'm going to find out." He pointed his wand at Harry's chest and muttered, "_Ennervate._"

The red, cat-like eyes snapped open. At once, Harry let out a roar and lunged for Mr. Weasley, only to be restrained by his bounds. Breathing heavily, he glared at them all.

"Who are you?" Mr. Weasley asked quietly, his wand still pointed at Harry's chest.

Harry glared at him. "I'm the Dark Lord," the high pitched voice coming out of his mouth hissed. "Now kindly undo these straps."

"If you're the Dark Lord, then why don't you undo them yourself?" Mr. Weasley replied in a steady voice.

Harry --- You-Know-Who --- smirked. "Well, that would be showing a little too much power, don't you think?" 

The red eyes looked around, surveying the room and the people in it. Ginny's brothers blanched at the sight of them and Hermione let out a small, scared squeak. Her mother looked as though she were about to faint.

__

Do you remember me, Tom? Ginny couldn't help but wonder as the red eyes fixed upon her briefly.

"The Weasleys, I presume?" You-Know-Who asked after a while. "Ah, yes, Potter's memories inform me well…"

"What do you want with Harry?" Mr. Weasley demanded. "You already have your body back, don't you? Why are you using him?"

"Tell me… why do you concern yourself with Potter's fate?" You-Know-Who said with cruel amusement. "Aren't you afraid of what I can do you to you and your family? What is he to you?"

"We're his family," Mr. Weasley said. "He's like a son to us."

"His _family_?" he repeated, sneering. "Ah, such a trivial sentimentality. But I can see the truth you conceal: to you, Potter is just some poor orphan you took pity on."

"That is _not _true!" Ron burst out angrily.

"Be quiet, Ron!" Hermione hissed. "He's just doing it to get a rise out of us… he's trying to get us to attack him to hurt Harry!"

"But Potter knows this as well," You-Know-Who went on, his eyes gleaming maliciously. "I can hear his thoughts. He thinks that you have no right to take the places of his parents. To him, his _real_ family died a long time ago…"

"You _killed_ them," Mr. Weasley interrupted coldly.

"Oh, that's right," You-Know-Who mused, twisting Harry's face into an evil smile. "I did."

"You're a monster!" Ginny shouted, shaking with rage. She was unable to control herself. She'd seen for herself how evil Tom Riddle was through her experience with his diary… but at some point, before he turned evil, he had been a human being. Now You-Know-Who didn't have a spark of humanity left inside of him; he was using Harry as a puppet and _enjoyed_ the pain he was causing him.

You-Know-Who glanced at her, keeping Harry's face as blank as possible. Suddenly, she felt as if an invisible hand had punched her in the face. She went flying into the wall and landed on the ground with a crash.

"_Ginny_!" Mrs. Weasley screamed, rushing to her side with Hermione. "Ginny --- oh Ginny --- are you all right?"

"I'm okay, Mum," Ginny groaned as Hermione pulled her upright. "But… how did he do that?" 

"Even though you have me restrained, I can still use my powers," You-Know-Who replied coolly. "I transferred some of them to the boy when I possessed… I'd thought they would be useful. Let this be a warning: I could kill all of you right now without moving a finger."

"Then why don't you?" Fred asked boldly.

"Believe me, I would like nothing more to end your meddling lives right now, if I didn't want to find out Dumbledore's plans…" You-Know-Who's eyes widened, staring at something behind Mr. Weasley. "Why speak of the devil," he hissed.

The Weasleys and Hermione whirled around. In the doorway stood Professor Dumbledore himself. Behind him stood Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Mad-Eye Moody, and none other than Severus Snape.

Ginny looked at Dumbledore. The headmaster, usually benign and calm, looked uncharacteristically furious as he stared at You-Know-Who. She could sense a powerful aura radiating from him. He drew out his wand and pointed it at You-Know-Who. "Get out of his body, Tom," he said in a voice of deadly calm.

You-Know-Who started laughing. "And what are you going do to me if I don't?" he taunted. "Kill me? You and I both know that you can't do that… not without harming your precious Potter."

"And we also both know that you can't stay in his body for long," Dumbledore replied. "You can't stand to feel the emotions he feels."

You-Know-Who smiled. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong, Dumbledore. You see, I thought ahead before possessing him… I knew that since his beloved godfather died, he'd be going through a world of pain. Pain that he wouldn't be able to endure…

"I entered his dreams this summer… his rage was powerful… he didn't just want revenge on the people responsible for Black's death --- he wanted them _slaughtered_. I used this too my advantage, and appearing to him in the form of a specter, offered to take away his pain and give him the power to take revenge. He was skeptical at first… but in the end, he was unable to resist the temptation. He agreed to the deal last night, and in doing so, he rejected his emotions, allowing me to control him as I pleased…"

"And you used him to kill Kreacher," Dumbledore said.

"Well, he didn't _know_ what he was doing," You-Know-Who said, grinning wickedly. "When he discovered what he had done, he was horrified. That's the trouble with weak fools like him… once they actually taste revenge, they find it isn't to their liking. He tried to get rid of me, but it's too late. I have full control of him now!" 

There was silence. Ginny and her family stood there in numb horror. Dumbledore's face was a mask of indifference as he stared at You-Know-Who.

"Ironic, isn't it?" You-Know-Who taunted. "You thought the safest way to keep the boy safe was to clear his mind of all emotions… and yet he was even more vulnerable without them."

"How long do you intend on staying in him?" Dumbledore asked finally.

"For as long as I need to," You-Know-Who replied silkily. 

"I won't allow you to do this to him," Dumbledore said quietly. "We'll force you out." 

"And what then? Haven't you forgotten what possession does to the host? It shortens their lives. Once I leave his body, he'll die. The amount of time he has left is entirely up to you."

Ron approached Dumbledore. "P-Professor," he whispered, looking pale, "it --- it isn't true, is it? Harry --- Harry can't die!"

Dumbledore sighed, looking much older than he already was. "I'm afraid he isn't lying, Mr. Weasley," he said sadly. "The possession will take his life."

Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands to her mouth, looking stricken. "No!" she cried. "He can't die… not like this!"

"What are we going to do?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Everything that is humanly possible," Dumbledore replied gently. "Only I don't know if that will be enough to save him." He turned to the Order members, looking very determined. "Remus, get as many others as you can," he whispered. We have to get Voldemort out of Harry's body… not only does Harry's life depend on it, but perhaps ours as well." 

To be continued…


	8. Mind Games

Author's Note: I'm really, really sorry that it took so long to update. I was really busy with performing in my high school play, _Guys and Dolls_, which was a lot of fun. This will be a nice long chapter to make up for it. And if you've been wondering when Wormtail was going to get involved in the plot, I hope this chapter will answer your queries. *evil laughter*

****

Chapter Eight: Mind Games

"D'you think they'll be able release Harry?" Ginny asked, later that afternoon. She, Ron, and Hermione had retreated to Ron's room. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had refused to tell them what was going on in the master bedroom. A Silencing Charm had also been placed upon the bedroom door to ensure that they couldn't eavesdrop on the Order while they attempting to force You-Know-Who out.

Dumbledore and the others wasted no time in taking charge of the situation. He instructed the Weasleys to place Silencing Charms all around The Burrow to make sure Voldemort didn't overhear anything that could lead him to discover the existence of the Order. Then he and the Order members (except for Lupin, who was still getting reinforcements) went into the master bedroom with You-Know-Who. 

"Of course they will," Hermione said, in as confident a voice she could muster. "After all, Dumbledore's the only one Voldemort's afraid of. He doesn't stand a chance against him."

Ron shook his head. "I dunno, Hermione," he said slowly. "He didn't seem afraid of Dumbledore when we last saw him."

"Only because he's too arrogant to show it," Hermione replied.

They fell into silence. "What if they _can't_ get You-Know-Who out?" Ginny wondered quietly, her heart sinking. "At least, not without killing Harry…" 

"Dumbledore wouldn't let anything happen to him!" Hermione insisted, although her stricken expression said otherwise.

"I don't know about that," Ginny said grimly. "Dumbledore is a great wizard, but he's only a man. Even _he _looked worried when he told us that Harry might die…"

"_JUST LISTEN TO YOU!_" Ron shouted, standing up from the bed. "Who do you think you are? You're Harry's friend, and yet you're just sitting here, talking like he's really going to die! Don't you think that there's the slightest chance that Harry will be able to save _himself_?"

"You heard Voldemort," Hermione said, taken aback by Ron's outburst. "Harry couldn't stop him; he fell for Voldemort's trap…"

"SO YOU'RE SAYING THAT THIS IS HARRY'S FAULT?" Ron exploded. "WHAT ABOUT _YOU_? YOU AND YOUR STUPID _SPEW_…"

"It isn't stupid!" Hermione yelled angrily.

"YOU WERE THE ONE WHO GOT HIM ALL RILED UP BY DEFENDING KREACHER! I SUPPOSE YOU'RE GOING TO SAY THAT HARRY'S A MURDERER NOW…"

Hermione shook her head vehemently. "No… I didn't mean it…" she said hoarsely, her eyes shining with tears. "I'd _never _think Harry was a murderer… never…"

"All right, that's enough!" Ginny said sharply. She turned to Ron angrily. "Things are already bad enough without us getting mad at _each other_! What happened to Harry wasn't just Hermione's fault; we _all_ could have done something to stop it. _I_ could have talked to him after he and Hermione had that row and calmed him down. Any of us could have done that, but we didn't. So we should stop wasting time blaming each other for something that's already happened!"

The two of them were silent for a while. Then Hermione spoke. "You're right," she said shakily. "I'm so sorry… I wasn't thinking yesterday…"

"No, _I'm_ sorry," Ron said softly. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that." He let out a frustrated groan. "It's just that this is killing me… my best friend is being possessed by the most evil Dark wizard that ever lived, and I can't do anything to help him. And nobody's telling us what's going on…"

"I know," Ginny agreed. "We can't just sit here and do nothing. I don't care what Mum and Dad said; we aren't too young to know the truth! We were with Harry in the Department of Mysteries that night… we fought against Death Eaters and nearly got killed. What's the point of trying to protect us now?"

"But what can we going to do?" Ron asked. "Everyone except the Order has been barred from seeing You-Know-Who!"

Hermione thought hard. "Maybe we could try and contact Harry… we're his friends, after all. We could have better luck getting through to him than the others."

"Are you sure Harry will _want_ to talk to us?" Ginny asked.

Hermione nodded. "He's still Harry… somewhere in there."

"Then I say we make them take us inside!" Ron declared, getting to his feet. "You-Know-Who isn't going take Harry from us --- not if we can help it."

But before they could go to the master bedroom, they heard a voice calling from downstairs. "Arthur? Molly? Could you come downstairs? Someone's here to see you."

"Lupin's back!" Ron muttered. "I wonder who he brought with him…"

They were soon to find out. Abandoning their plans for the moment, the three headed down to the kitchen where they found Professor Lupin --- accompanied by Percy.

"You!" Ron said furiously. He started towards Percy, but Hermione and Ginny held him back. "What do _you_ want?"

"I --- I wanted to help," Percy said awkwardly.

Ron snorted derisively. "Yeah, right! You just came to see for yourself that Harry's insane."

"While I don't believe _some _of the tales Harry is telling," Percy said, steadily growing redder in the face, "I _do _believe that You-Know-Who is back!"

"They aren't tales!" Ginny said angrily. "And you only believe You-Know-Who is back because the Ministry accepted it, right?"

"Why didn't you just stay away from us?" Ron spat. "I thought you said it was a _mistake _to even bother to come back!" 

"All right, that's enough!" Lupin intervened, moving between the two brothers. "I understand that things are bad between you and Percy right now, but Percy _volunteered_ to help us. We need all the help we can get; otherwise, we won't be able to get Voldemort out of Harry in time. That means no more fighting!"

Ron glared at Lupin. "Why are you telling us what to do?"

"I'm telling you what Dumbledore ordered," Lupin replied calmly. "We don't have any time to argue; we all need to stick together right now. If you won't do it for your family, do for it for Harry."

Ginny nodded, remembering her own words. Her angry feelings towards Percy weren't going to change, but she would set them aside for now… at least until Harry was back to normal.

"Fine," Ron snapped. "Only don't expect us to kiss and make up."

"I won't," Lupin said heavily. He gazed out the window.

"Professor," Hermione said timidly, stepping forward, "if --- I mean, _when_ we get Harry back, will he be all right?"

Lupin gave her a sharp look. "I'm afraid he won't. Voldemort made him kill Kreacher. Even though he never meant for it to happen, he'll still be a murderer…"

"He's not a murderer!" Ginny exclaimed, astonished.

"Believe me, I don't think he's a murderer," Lupin amended gently, "but he will in his mind. I don't know how he'll ever get past that."

"Then we'll help him," Ginny said simply.

"Like we helped him get past Sirius's death?" Ron asked bitterly.

"_Ron!_" Ginny said in a warning tone, but Lupin shook his head.

"He's right," he said sadly. "Even if Harry neglected his Occlumency practice, we're at fault too. My best friend was dead… and I was so wrapped up in my own grief that I don't think I realized that Harry was also in pain." He sighed, turning back to the window. "I shouldn't have been so hard on him yesterday…"

Suddenly, he froze. "What was that?" he asked, pointing to the window. "I saw something moving in the grass."

Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and Percy looked out the window. "I dunno," Ron said, puzzled. "It looked like a rat."

Lupin stood there for a moment. Then, without a single explanation, he ran out of the house, drawing out his wand. 

"What on earth has got into him?" Percy wondered.

Before any of the others could reply, Lupin returned shortly, the rat magically levitating at his side. The rat squirmed, trying to free itself from the grip of its spell. His face bore a mixture of shock and fury, just as it had when he'd discovered that Harry was possessed.

"Professor, what are you doing?" Hermione asked, bewildered. "It's just a rat."

"You ought to know better, Hermione," Lupin said, breathing heavily. "Maybe I've been around Mad-Eye too long, but you should never assume that you aren't being watched, especially now…"

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"See for yourself," Lupin replied, pointing to the rat. At first, Ginny couldn't see what all the fuss was about. It looked like a perfectly normal rat… yet she couldn't help noticing that one of its paws was --- 

"Silver!" breathed Hermione. She glanced at Ron. "You don't think ---?"

"It is!" Ron said incredulously. He glanced at Ginny, and it dawned on her…

Lupin raised his wand. Blue and white light shot out of it, enveloping the rat. The rat was thrown to the ground. Within moments, it changed into a short man in a hooded cloak and a silver hand. He looked nothing short of terrified.

"Is --- that?" Percy stammered, wide-eyed.

"That's Peter Pettigrew," Hermione said coldly.

"_Wormtail_," Lupin hissed venomously.

Wormtail made a sudden movement, as though trying to make a run for it, but Lupin pulled out his wand and bellowed, "_Petrificus Totalus!" _Wormtail fell to the ground, stiff as a board.

"You," panted Lupin, standing over Wormtail, pointing his wand directly at his chest, "aren't going anywhere, you little bastard." He turned to Hermione. "Get Dumbledore and the others!" 

Hermione didn't need telling twice; she ran out of the room. Ron and Ginny both glared at Percy. 

"So," Ron said bitterly, "you still think that Harry was lying?"

Percy could only stand there, dumbfounded.

Moments later, Hermione returned with Dumbledore, Snape, and the two Weasley parents. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley both looked at Wormtail with the utmost disgust. Ginny knew why; when they had found out the truth about Sirius, they were horrified to learn that a man who had sold out Harry's parents was living in their home for twelve years as a pet.

All the adults in the room drew out their wands and pointed it at Wormtail. Lupin removed the Full-Body Bind, but Wormtail still didn't move.

"R-R-Remus," he whimpered, shaking. "R-R-Remus, please…"

"Don't even bother asking me to help you," Lupin snarled. "I suppose you were happy to hear the good news, were you? Sirius is dead. You won't have to worry about him finding you anymore…"

"Remus," Wormtail said, "I swear, I had nothing to do with it! I didn't kill him!"

"You as good as killed him the minute you framed him for being a Death Eater," Lupin replied coldly. "Now we have a few questions for you, Wormtail, and you'd better answer them. _What are you doing here?_"

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named… he wanted me to get information on Dumbledore, so he --- he forced me to spy on the Weasleys. I didn't want to --- he tortured me, Remus, I didn't have a choice…"

"Oh, he _forced _you, did he?" Mr. Weasley said in a voice that was dripping sarcasm. "Just he _forced _you to spy on us before? Because I had assumed you chose to do that!"

"What else do you know?" Lupin demanded.

"I-I don't know anything, Remus, I swear!"

Lupin snorted. "Everything coming out of your mouth is a lie!"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, Remus. For once he is telling the truth. He doesn't know anything outside of his assignment."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. She lowered her voice so that Wormtail couldn't hear her. "Why would You-Know-Who send him to spy on us when he's using Harry to do that?"

"I'm afraid I don't know," Dumbledore whispered back. He raised his wand. Thin cords sprang out of his wand, binding and gagging Wormtail. "We'll hold him here until we can contact the Ministry. I shall send Alastor and Kingsley down to guard him so he can't escape." 

"Professor," Ginny said, suddenly remembering, "Ron, Hermione, and I want to go upstairs. We want to try and reach Harry."

"_No!_" Mrs. Weasley shouted furiously. "Absolutely not! You're not going near that monster! You-Know-Who will kill you! He knows how close you are to Harry!"

"But maybe we can get through to him," Hermione pleaded. "We're Harry's friends! He'll listen to us, I know he will!"

"You-Know-Who almost killed you, Hermione!" Mr. Weasley argued. "He nearly did the same to Ginny!"

"He's our best friend!" Ron yelled. "If you think we're just going to hide from him, you're wrong!"

Dumbledore stared at them for a long time. "Very well," he said. "However, I must insist that Severus accompanies you," he continued, indicating Snape, "to make sure you aren't harmed.

"I wish you the best of luck," he went on. "I believe that Harry may listen to someone he cares about." He suddenly looked sad, for some strange reason. "And someone he trusts," he added quietly.

***

Snape led them up the stairs. Tonks, Mad-Eye, and Kingsley were waiting outside the master bedroom door. After Snape gave them a quick explanation of what had happened, the three Order members went down to investigate. 

Ron glanced at Ginny darkly. Ginny knew what he was thinking; what was Snape doing here? He certainly wouldn't care if Harry died or not…

_Dumbledore must have made him come, _she thought. _He **is** in the Order, after all. Only he was a Death Eater too…suppose he's secretly trying to help You-Know-Who have more control over him? He hates Harry, no matter what Dumbledore tells him to do…_

Yet that was silly. Like Hermione always said, Dumbledore trusted him, and if Dumbledore was usually right about everything…

Snape magically unlocked the door, and the four of them stepped inside the room. You-Know-Who was still tied to the bed, his cat-like eyes flashed through the darkness. He twisted Harry's face into a smile, as though he'd been expecting them.

"Well," he murmured softly, "what do we have here?" He stared at Snape. "It has been a while since we last met, hasn't it, Severus?"

Snape didn't respond. His face was a mask of indifference.

"You realize if I wasn't tied up, I would kill you right now," You-Know-Who hissed. "You used to work for me… you were once one of my most loyal followers… and now you're working for that Muggle-loving fool!"

"I'm not here to talk about past relations," Snape said coldly. "These three would like to speak to Potter."

You-Know-Who smirked. "And what does it matter to you, Severus? You hate Potter --- I know this through his memories… you take out all the pain his _father _gave you, and take it out on him. No wonder he loathes you…"

"I can assure you, the feeling is mutual," Snape said silkily.

You-Know-Who closed his eyes, smiling poisonously. "Ah… I can see another of the boy's memories now… he has seen some of your own school memories, if I am not mistaken. He saw for himself how father and his little friends _humiliated_ you. He hexed you in front of all the school, reduced you to such a low level that his own Mudblood mother had to come and defend you…

"And you know what Potter did when he saw this, Severus? He laughed. He _laughed_ and _laughed_ and _laughed_, it gave him such pleasure to watch his own tormenter get his… _He deserved it, _he was thinking. _He deserved it all. Snape's nothing more than slimy bastard_…"

"SILENCE!" Snape roared, pulling out his own wand and aiming it at Harry's body.

"_Don't you dare!_" Ron shouted, stepping in front of the bed. "If you kill Harry, I'll bloody kill you!"

"Harry would never think that!" Hermione shouted, also stepping in front of the bed. "Even though he doesn't like you, Harry would never think that! Voldemort's trying to trick you!"

"Don't say his name, you stupid girl!" Snape bellowed.

You-Know-Who smirked. "If you're more than willing to kill Potter, perhaps you are more loyal than I thought you were. Go ahead, Severus, give it a try…"

"NO, DON'T!" Hermione screamed to Snape. "YOU'LL KILL HARRY!"

"What makes you think I've got a problem with that?" Snape snarled.

"What about Dumbledore?" Hermione asked, glaring at Snape. "He trusted you, he gave you a second chance, and this is how you'd repay him? It would just prove to him and everyone else that you never really turned from the Dark Arts…" 

Snape froze at these words. Slowly, reluctantly, he lowered his wand.

You-Know-Who laughed. "I knew it. You've been reduced to nothing more than a lapdog for Dumbledore. I'm disappointed, Severus, look how far you've fallen…"

Snape stepped back and shoved Ron forward. "Hurry up and talk to him, if you wish," he said harshly.

Ron and Hermione approached the bed cautiously. Ginny, however, remained where she was. She did want to talk Harry, but felt that since Ron and Hermione were his best friends, they ought to give it a try first. Besides, she wasn't ready to talk to You-Know-Who… not yet…

"Harry…" Ron said hoarsely. "Harry, I know you're in there somewhere… please come out and talk to us."

You-Know-Who laughed again. "He can't hear you, you idiot. And even if he could, you two are the last people he wants to talk to."

"That's not true!" Hermione said, trembling. "We're his friends!"

"Friends?" You-Know-Who scoffed. "Please. If you were truly his friend, you wouldn't act as though you were more clever than he is."

"You're a liar!" Hermione said angrily.

"Am I?" You-Know-Who taunted. "I only say what I see from his memories and thoughts. You've always had a holier-than-thou attitude, ever since the day he met you. You think that by getting full marks in all your classes and being a prefect will make you superior to others…" 

He lowered his voice, looking even more sinister. "But deep down, you know it will never be enough. You know that in the eyes of many, you'll be nothing more than a filthy Mudblood."

"Stop it," Hermione said in a shaking voice. Her eyes were slowly filling up with tears. "You aren't Harry… he'd never say that…"

"Mudblood… _Mudblood_… _MUDBLOOD!_"

Hermione burst into tears and ran out of the room.

"YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!" Ron yelled, stepping forward. "We want to talk to Harry, not you!"

"You are no better than she is, boy," You-Know-Who whispered. "You _pretend _to be Harry's best friend, yet deep down, you're jealous of him."

"I am not!" Ron said defiantly. "You don't know anything about me, you bastard!"

"Oh, but Potter knows you very well. He knows that you envy all the fame and fortune he has received…"

His words were definitely affecting Ron badly; he was shaking and his face was contorted in fury. Ginny knew that he and Harry had an argument about this in fourth year, after Harry had been placed in the Triwizard Tournament. Yet they had settled their argument and their friendship had never been stronger since. 

_He's doing what he did to Snape, _Ginny thought. _He's trying to make Ron and Hermione hate him. Harry would never even think such things!_

"You'd give anything to have a bit of glory," You-Know-Who pressed on. "Even sacrifice your own parents, I daresay, just to have that scar on your head."

"Shut up," Ron said through gritted teeth. "Just --- shut --- _UP_!"

"Well, you won't have to wait long," You-Know-Who hissed. "The moment I'm done with Potter, I will personally see to it that your entire family is killed!"

At that moment, Ron lost it completely. He swung his fist forward at Harry's head. However, before he could strike him, he was thrown back into the wall.

"Idiot boy!" You-Know-Who snarled. "You have clearly forgotten who you are dealing with."

"Get out of here," Snape said quietly as Ron struggled to his feet. "There's no use trying to penetrate Potter's feeble mind."

Ron glared, but he left the room, Snape following behind him. Ginny lingered for a moment, staring at You-Know-Who. His red eyes met her eyes, and to her horror, a sadistic smile twisted his face.

_He knows, _she thought, terrified. _He remembers me…_

So what? a voice in her head asked. _He possessed you before; there's no getting around it. If you want to help Harry, you'll have to confront him sooner or later._

Ginny hesitated. She stepped forward…

Snape stuck his head inside the door. "Hurry up!" he snapped.

"No," Ginny said, shaking her head. "I want to talk to him…"

"I SAID MOVE!" Snape yelled. He grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the room. "Your parents will personally see that I'm sacked if I leave you alone with him…"

Ginny never took her eyes off You-Know-Who until Snape shut and locked the door. 

__

I have to face him…she thought. _I can help Harry. But I can't do it with all the Order members hovering around. _

An idea emerged within her mind. _I'll do it tonight._

To be continued…


	9. Horrific Discoveries

Disclaimer: I purposely stole a quote from _Lord of the Rings: Return of the King_. Let's see if anyone can spot it! (Cygnus Crux, I'm talking to you, in particular!)

Chapter Nine: Horrific Discoveries

Later that night, Ginny lay in bed, anxiously listening for any distant noises. She had to be sure that everyone was asleep; otherwise, she couldn't set one foot in the master bedroom.

The only noise she could hear at the moment were the muffled sobs of Hermione, who was lying facedown in her camp bed. In spite of the fact that it had been You-Know-Who --- not Harry --- who had said all those hurtful things to her, it had still affected her badly. The same went for Ron; after he had left the master bedroom, he'd shut himself up in his room for the rest of the day.

Ginny clenched her fists angrily. You-Know-Who was ruining Harry's life. Apparently, it wasn't enough that he killed his parents and was responsible for the deaths of Cedric and Sirius… now he had taken control of Harry, used him to kill Kreacher, and hurt the people Harry cared about most…

Maybe it would be better if he _did_ die after You-Know-Who left his body.

_How can you even think that? _ Ginny berated herself. _Harry **won't **die…and I'm going to make sure of it!_

It was well past midnight. She knew that Dumbledore and the Order members were all camping out downstairs, so You-Know-Who would be locked in the bedroom. If she wanted to try contacting Harry, now was the perfect time to do it.

Quietly, she got out of bed, tiptoed to her school trunk, and dug out her wand. Hopefully, she wouldn't have a reason to use it… but You-Know-Who had tried to kill her. She'd have to defend herself, even at the risk of harming Harry. She also took a hairpin out of her dresser. Fred and George had taught her how to pick locks, which would certainly be useful to unlock the bedroom.

She crept out of her room and went to the master bedroom. She stuck the hairpin into the lock. After fiddling with it for a few minutes, the door opened . 

Ginny took a deep breath. _I'm ready, _she thought, almost as if she were trying to convince herself. Carefully, she opened the door and walked in.

You-Know-Who was still awake. His red eyes glowed in the dark, surveying her. Nervous as she was, she tried to keep her face as calm as possible.

A smirk spread across Harry's face. "You fear me, child?" You-Know-Who asked.

"I'm not a child," she retorted. "And I'm not afraid of you."

"You're lying," he hissed softly. "Don't waste your time lying to me, girl. I always know when someone is lying to me. You can't even say my name aloud…"

"Yes, I can… _Tom_," Ginny said boldly.

You-Know-Who laughed. "You assume that I still go by my common, Muggle father's name? I am Lord Voldemort, you silly girl." His smile widened. "But of course, you know me as Tom… wouldn't you, _Ginny_?"

"So you remember me?" she asked, unfazed.

"In a manner of speaking," You-Know-Who replied casually. "The boy's memory has informed me of your little_ incident_ with my diary. But I knew about you long before I possessed him… Lucius told me all about it shortly after I returned to power." He gazed at Ginny. "So I suppose you and Potter are in the same situation now. I made you attack all of your friends… if it hadn't been for him, you probably would really killed someone… you may have even died…

"So tell me… how does it feel to have the tables turned. Now Potter is the one who is possessed. But unlike you, he _has _killed someone and he _will _die. And you didn't do a thing to help the _hero _who saved your life years ago. How does that make you feel?"

Ginny knew at once what You-Know-Who was trying to make her do. He was using Harry's memories against her, just as he had done to Ron, Hermione, and Snape. He was trying to weaken her… 

"I _did_ try to help Harry," she said icily. "I didn't know that you were going to take him over, but I tried to help him cope with Sirius's death. And I don't think for one second that Harry is a murderer. If I did, then I'd be one too, for Petrifying all those Muggle-borns in my first year. _You _were the one who killed Kreacher --- you just _used_ Harry to do it."

You-Know-Who looked surprised yet amused. "You must think you're brave," he said quietly. "Coming in here all by yourself, with no grown-ups to protect you…"

Ginny pulled out her wand and pointed it at him. "I faced Death Eaters a few months ago. I think I can handle myself."

"You can't use magic outside of Hogwarts," You-Know-Who sneered.

"Not unless there's an emergency," Ginny replied confidently. "And I'd say having the Dark Lord invade your house counts as one."

"You'd really kill Potter?" You-Know-Who asked, as though daring her.

"No," she said slowly, realizing a possibility that everyone else had neglected to think of. "For one thing, I don't know how. For another, it wouldn't really affect you, would it? If someone used a Killing Curse on you, you could just leave and go back to your own body before it even hit Harry."

You-Know-Who looked stunned. Then he forced Harry's face into another evil smile. "You're a clever one. Full marks. But what makes you so willing to face me if you can't kill me?"

"Because I've learned some defensive spells that can keep you in check," Ginny replied smoothly. "Besides, one scream for help and Dumbledore would be up here in a moment to take care of you."

"You poor, naïve girl… you think Dumbledore is the mightiest wizard in the whole world?"

"If he isn't, then why are you afraid of him?" Ginny replied rather arrogantly.

You-Know-Who's eyes flashed threateningly. Ginny knew that hadn't been the cleverest thing to say to him, but she kept her wand quite steady. 

"Dumbledore is only a man, you little fool," he snarled. "If he's so powerful, why couldn't he stop me from taking Potter? Or rising again, for that matter?"

"I don't know," Ginny said quietly, "but I'm not here to talk with you. Let me talk to Harry."

You-Know-Who laughed. "You just expect me to release him?" he asked incredulously.

"No. I only want to talk to him."

"Oh?" You-Know-Who mocked. "And what will you do if I don't? You're not nearly as brave as those fools downstairs who think they can stop me."

"I'm just as brave as them," Ginny replied angrily.

A sinister smile twisted his face. "Then prove it," he hissed. "At least they can address me properly. You, your family, and that stupid little Mudblood can't even say my proper name."

Ginny was silent, unsure of what do to. 

"Go on, say it," he challenged. "It's just a name… isn't that what Dumbledore says? If you can't even say my name, then you admit you're a coward, just like your family. And to think that you and your brothers are all in Gryffindor…"

Ginny was furious. "I am not a coward, _Voldemort_!" she spat. "Let me talk to Harry!" 

You-Know-Who --- Voldemort --- stared at her for a long time. Then he smirked. "You're in love with him."

Ginny's heart stopped beating momentarily, but she shook it off. "No, I'm not!" she retorted. "I'm just his friend."

Voldemort made a dismissive noise. "Why do you keep lying to me? Lord Voldemort always knows…"

"No, you don't!" Ginny snapped. "Your mind tricks might work on Ron, Hermione, and even Snape, but they won't work on me!"

Voldemort laughed sadistically. "Oh, I see," he said softly, his eyes gleaming. "You're only deluding yourself into thinking you're over him, that you're just his friend. I can see right through you, girl. Your silly little affection for him is crystal clear…"

"_Let me talk to Harry, or I'll hex you so badly, you'll have to leave his body!_" Ginny yelled, pointing her wand at him.

Voldemort paused for a moment. "Very well," he said silkily. "I'll let you speak to Potter. But remember this," he threatened, "I leave his body and he dies. Understood?"

Ginny nodded curtly.

Voldemort shut his eyes briefly, then opened them again. The red light had vanished from his eyes, as well as the cat-like pupils. Instead, Ginny found herself looking at familiar green eyes. 

"Harry…" she whispered, shaking. She lowered her wand.

Harry uttered a sharp gasp as though waking from a nightmare. Sweat was pouring down his face and he was trembling. He tried to sit up, but noticed that his hands and feet were tied to the bed.

"Ginny," he said hoarsely, "what's going on? Where's Voldemort? Has he hurt your family?"

"No, no," she said soothingly. "Everyone's okay… so far." She then proceeded to inform him of what had happened in The Burrow since Voldemort had been in control of him.

Harry looked as though he were going to be sick. "It's all my fault," he whispered. "How could I have been so stupid? Voldemort is going to find out about the Order and everyone will die…"

"Don't even start with that!" Ginny said warningly. Perhaps she sounded insensitive when she said this, but she didn't know how long it would be until Voldemort regained control of Harry. "We don't have time for you to start blaming yourself! It wasn't your fault!"

"How can you say that?" he asked incredulously. "I murdered Kreacher!"

"It wasn't you, it was Voldemort!" she said vehemently. "Voldemort can trick anyone! Listen --- you have to fight him! You can't let him stay in your body!" 

Harry shook his head. "I can't," he said weakly. "He drained all my emotions so I couldn't force him out. I can't feel anything anymore… only fear and rage."

"You can do this, I know you can!" Ginny cried. Her throat was tightening and tears started to fill her eyes. 

Just then, the door opened. Dumbledore quietly stepped inside. He stared at Harry, intently with his light blue gaze. Ginny wouldn't have believed what happened next if she hadn't witnessed it herself.

"_You!_" Harry rasped, struggling against his bonds. "This is all your fault, you bastard!"

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, horrified. "Get a hold of yourself! It's _Dumbledore_… he's here to help you!"

"He's done enough to help me already!" Harry said harshly. "You… why didn't you tell me when I asked in my first year? Why did you save the truth until when you were too scared to even look at me!" His voice broke.

Dumbledore only stood there silently.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny demanded, looking from Harry to Dumbledore. "What's been going on between the two of you?"

"Ask him!" Harry snarled. "Why didn't you tell me… oh God!" His voice faltered and he started shaking. "He's coming back…"

"You can't let yourself die to this, not now!" Ginny begged. "Fight, Harry, fight!"

"I can't…"

"You can!" Ginny shouted tearfully. "Please Harry… we all need you to fight!"

His eyes suddenly turned red. "_Please Harry… we all need you so much!_" Voldemort's high, cold voice emerged from Harry's mouth, mimicking Ginny.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Ginny screamed. "He doesn't deserve this, you monster! Let him talk for another minute!"

"Time's up, Virginia," Voldemort said coldly. "He can't fight me --- no one can." He glanced at Dumbledore. "Albus… well, this is quite a pleasant surprise. I'll bet the boy had some _interesting _words for you…"

"What do you mean?" Ginny demanded. "You know something about this, don't you."

Voldemort's eyes gleamed. "Ah, so they don't know, Dumbledore?"

"You know…?" Dumbledore started to ask.

"About the prophecy? Please. The boy's memories have told me everything that I need to know?"

"What prophecy?" Ginny asked suspiciously.

"Ginny, go back to bed," Dumbledore ordered suddenly.

"No!" Ginny said angrily. "I want to know what's going on!"

"Yes, do let her stay, Dumbledore," Voldemort hissed. "Tell her… tell her about the prophecy… it is, after all, how this all started in the first place…"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know the prophecy you, Potter, your brother, and that Mudblood found in the Department of Mysteries? The one with my name and Potter's on it? It foretold the coming of a boy, born at the end of July, who had the power to defeat me."

"_Harry_…" Ginny breathed in shock.

Voldemort smirked. "Yes, but that's not all… one of us has to kill the other, for neither can live while the other survives… and I plan on living for a very long time… 

Ginny stared at Voldemort, horrified at what she heard. Was this why Harry was furious at Dumbledore? Because he had waited to tell him about this after Sirius had died? Because he'd found out that he had been placed the burden of stopping Voldemort once and for all? Because he'd discovered he might not even live to be eighteen?

She turned to Dumbledore. "It's not true," she pleaded, tears pouring out of her eyes. "It's not true! Tell me it isn't true!"

Dumbledore bowed his head. "I'm afraid it is true, Ginny," he said softly

Voldemort laughed wickedly. "See, Virginia? What did I tell you? Dumbledore is no mighty wizard --- he's only a pathetic old man foolish enough to try and stop me."

"You shut up!" Ginny snarled vehemently.

"Say what you want, but you can't deny the truth. The boy will die, the prophecy will be fulfilled… and then there will be no one to stop me!"

Dumbledore led a stunned Ginny out of the room and locked the door behind him. "So that's why Harry was so upset this summer," she said quietly. "It wasn't just Sirius's death; I knew he was hiding something from all of us… only I never thought it would be something like this…"

Dumbledore turned to face her, and suddenly Ginny didn't see him as the same Dumbledore she knew --- the benign headmaster of Hogwarts, the one who always came up with last-minute plans that worked, the only one Voldemort ever feared --- she simply saw an old, tired, battle-scarred man.

"Please do not tell anyone about what you just heard," he said wearily. "I don't think Harry can cope with everyone knowing right now… he has the right to tell them, if he ever does."

Ginny stood there, unable to speak. _Harry was right, _she thought ruefully. _He was right all along; I wouldn't understand what he's going through. If I was told that I would have to kill or die… I wouldn't know what I'd do…_

"Professor…" she said hoarsely. "Is there any hope for Harry? That we can force Voldemort outof his body without killing him?"

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "There never was any real hope," he replied. "Just a fool's hope." And he went back downstairs.

__

If we can't trust Dumbledore, we can't trust anyone is what Hermione always said. She was wrong. Ginny knew now that Dumbledore was only human; he was allowed to make mistakes… 

Still if Dumbledore was unable to save Harry, then it was possible that no one could.

To be continued….


	10. Explosion of Rage

Disclaimer: A minor _Star Wars _reference. I also took a quote from the _Buffy _episode, "Villains". It was stated in a few other episodes too. See if you can spot it!

Author's Note: Not one, but _two _character deaths in this chapter. You may or may not like who the causalities are. You have been warned. ;) Yeah, yeah, I'm evil. Okay, on with the show.

****

Chapter Ten: Explosion of Rage

The revelations and events of the previous night still weighed heavily on Ginny's mind the next day. All she did all day was sit in her room. She wouldn't even come down for meals, despite her mother's pleas for her to eat.

She wasn't the only one to do so. Hermione too stayed in Ginny's room during the entire day, pretending to read her schoolbooks, yet a sob emerged from her from time to time. Ron shut himself up in his own room. His reason was that he didn't want to be forced to talk to Percy. Even Fred and George were unable to lighten the overall mood of depression.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley spent the entire day talking to Percy. What they talked about was kept secret, but when the conversation was over, there wasn't a dry eye among the three of them.

As for Dumbledore and the Order, they each took shifts of guarding Wormtail (who was still tied up in the kitchen) and trying to force Voldemort out of Harry's body. Aloud, everyone said that there was no room for failure. However, Ginny knew exactly what they really thought: it was what everyone else was thinking…

Harry was going to die.

Ginny lay upon her bed in silent anger. It wasn't fair. Harry had done so much for the wizarding world… he'd gone through hell and back ever since the night Voldemort had killed his parents. And they were just going to give up and let him die?

_How dare they? _Ginny thought furiously. _If they thought that Harry was going to die from the beginning, they shouldn't have even come!_

They've done all they could, a voice in her head said reasonably. _It's not fair to blame them; it wasn't their fault this had happened. You're acting like Harry._

But Harry had a right to be mad at Dumbledore, Ginny argued. _God knows how I would have acted if my godfather died and I had such a burden placed on me…_

Maybe… it would be better if Harry died. 

She was immediately horrified with herself for even thinking that. Harry wouldn't die… he _couldn't_ die!

On the other hand, he'd been through so much already. Was it really fair to want him to live when he was in so much pain? She remembered his wan, tortured face when Voldemort had temporarily released him. He looked as though he was on the brink of insanity, and after what had happened, she couldn't blame him.

Even if the possession didn't kill him, he still wouldn't last long with the knowledge that he had killed Kreacher, purposely or not. His life would be very hard… letting him go would be an act of mercy.

But if he died… who would stop Voldemort? The prophecy was clear: one had to kill the other. The wizarding community would fight as hard as it could against Voldemort, only to lose in the end. Harry was the only one who could defeat him for good.

_God, this is complicated, _Ginny thought morbidly. _If only there was something I could do…_

Another thing was nagging at Ginny's mind: Voldemort had accused her of being in love with Harry. When she denied it, he'd said that she was lying…

**_He _**was the liar, Ginny thought, her face burning. _Harry's just my friend. He was just using my old crush on him to get me going._

That silly crush had been dead and buried for a year now. She had gone out with Michael Corner (who had turned out to be a whiner) and spoke more openly to Harry without blushing like an idiot. But she still cared for him as a_ friend_.

Are you sure? a little voice in her head asked slyly. _He knows when you're lying, after all…_

I was telling the truth! she retorted.

_Or maybe you're just lying to yourself, _the voice pressed. _Don't you still care about him?_

Of course I care about Harry! she thought, blushing. _Why else would I be worried about him?_

_You don't necessarily have a crush on him anymore, but that doesn't mean you don't have feelings for him, _the voice pointed out.

_That's the same thing! _Ginny protested.

_No, it isn't, _the voice replied. _A crush is something that you can get over either immediately or over time. And it's mostly based on shallow things like the person being good-looking or famous. Are those the only reasons why you liked Harry in the first place?_

NO! she thought furiously. _I didn't like Harry because he was famous! I liked him because he's brave and a good person!_

_Having feelings for someone, _the voice continued, _is when you like --- or love --- that person for who he is. Just like you do. Face it, you're far from being over him. You love him._

Refusing to continue this ridiculous conversation with herself any longer, Ginny looked out the window. The sun was setting. Another day was passing and still Voldemort was in Harry's body. How much longer could this go on?

The Order must have left the master bedroom by now… maybe, just maybe… she could try and contact Harry again. It was better than just sitting around in this room doing nothing!

She stood up and walked out of her room. Hermione, her face buried in her book, didn't even notice her leave. 

On the way up to the master bedroom, she ran into Ron. "'Lo," he said hoarsely. His eyes were red and puffy. 

Ginny didn't know what to say to him, so she just nodded in response.

"They've left the room, if that's what you're wondering," Ron went on, as though he were reading her mind. He hesitated. "D'you want to…"

"Yeah," Ginny replied automatically. "I have to try. Do you want to come?"

Ron was silent, looking at the ground.

"Ron, you know perfectly well that what that --- that _thing_ said to you wasn't at all what Harry thinks," Ginny said vehemently. "He's a liar, Ron, you know that!"

"I know," he said quietly. "But it still hurt, you know?"

"I know it does," she said as patiently as she could, "only Harry's going to hurt a lot worse if and when this whole ordeal is over. We need to be there for him, no matter what."

Ron swallowed, then nodded. "Yeah, you're right. He's my best friend… I can't just let him die. Let's go, then."

They went up to the master bedroom. Ginny took out her hairpin and started to pick the lock, but froze when she heard Harry's voice through the door.

"No… no… _please_…"

"D'you hear that?" Ron whispered excitedly. "That's Harry! He must be fighting You-Know-Who!"

Ginny felt relieved. _I knew you could do it, Harry! _she thought happily.

Her joy was short-lived when she heard Voldemort's voice say, "It is no use trying to fight, Potter. Your upcoming death will be a lot less painful if you cooperate."

"No… go away!" Harry was moaning.

"_Go away?_" Voldemort repeated mockingly.

"I… hate… you…" Harry spat weakly.

Voldemort laughed wickedly. "Ah, good. Hate me all you want… your hatred makes me even stronger!"

"What's going on?" Ginny whispered to Ron fearfully.

"It looks like they're having a conversation with each other," Ron muttered. "Harry's trying to fight and he's losing. Bloody hell, I'm glad I can't see them; it would look so weird hearing Harry talk in different voices…"

"Quiet!" Ginny hissed. "I want to hear the rest." They pressed their ears to the doors and listened.

"You should be grateful that I haven't left your body yet, boy," Voldemort hissed. "Because once I do, you'll die --- but not before I kill every single one of the Weasleys."

"No…" Harry rasped. "Don't you dare hurt them…"

"What do you care? They are no longer your friends; they hate you now. You surrendered yourself to me and sold them all out. You're a murderer now, just like me…"

"No… no… I didn't mean to…"

"Murderer… _Murderer_… _MURDERER!_"

"Shouldn't we do something?" Ron whispered anxiously.

"What can we do?" Ginny shot back. "Voldemort would kill us if we tried to do anything!"

"Don't say his name!" Ron gasped.

"It's just a name, Ron!" she said boldly. "If Harry can say it, anybody can!"

"GET OUT OF MY BODY!" Harry was screaming.

"Why do you continue to struggle when you know you can't win? Now let me deeper into your mind so I can find out more about this little organization of Dumbledore's…."

"No… I won't sell them out… get out of my body!"

"I'm warning you, Potter," Voldemort said in a dangerously low voice, "if you fail to cooperate, there will be consequences. I'm not afraid to damage your body, even when I'm still in it."

There was silence. "What are you doing?" Harry croaked, suddenly sounding fearful.

"This is your last chance," Voldemort said smoothly. "Either surrender and die a more painless death, or suffer a prolonged death. Whichever you choose does not bother me."

"Do whatever you whatever the hell you want, I won't sell them out!" Harry bellowed.

"Suit yourself," Voldemort hissed venomously.

At once, there was a slashing noise, as though something was cutting into flesh. Harry's agonized screams penetrated the barrier of the door.

"Oh my God, Harry!" Ron yelled. He rammed his body against the door.

"Ron, what are you doing?" Ginny gasped, horrified.

"I'm not going to let that bastard hurt my best friend!" Ron shouted. "Help me break down the door!"

Ginny didn't argue; Harry was in trouble and needed help. Together, the two of them slammed against the door. It took almost ten attempts until the door finally burst open. They raced into the room, and gasped in horror at the grisly sight before them.

Harry (who was apparently still in control) was bound to the bed, moaning in utter agony. Deep gnashes had been cut across his arms, legs, and stomach. He was bleeding profusely, soaking the bedclothes and floor. 

"Oh my God, Harry!" Ginny cried, rushing to his side. "What happened? What he do to you?"

"He… cut… me from inside…" Harry said weakly. "He's inside me… he can hurt me whenever he wants to…"

"That bloody _bastard_!" Ron growled. He started to untie one of Harry's hands from the bedposts. "He's losing blood fast," he muttered to Ginny. "Come on, we have to get him downstairs…"

Ginny nodded, and quickly started to untie Harry's other arm.

"No!" Harry gasped, breathing heavily. "No… you can't… he'll come back! Leave me here… if I die, he'll leave."

"The hell we will!" Ron retorted furiously. 

"We are not leaving you here!" Ginny insisted. She had free his arms and now was working on his legs. "If you die, then the Order's efforts to save you will all be for nothing!"

Once Ron and Ginny freed Harry from his bonds, they pulled him upright. Each of them wrapped one of Harry's arms around their shoulders in order to support him. They half-dragged, half-carried him out of the room and hurried down to the kitchen. 

Percy met them down the corridor. He blanched at the sight of Harry. "Ron, Ginny, what happened?" he hissed. "Why did you bring him down here… You-Know-Who will kill us!

"Harry's in control of him now --- not that you'd care!" Ron spat angrily. "You-Know-Who attacked him from inside of his body. He needs help!"

"Why didn't you just leave him upstairs and alert one of the Order members then?" Percy shouted. He moved in front of the entrance to the kitchen, blocking their way. "It could be a trap! You-Know-Who may come back at any moment!"

Harry uttered a high-pitched cry of a pain, filling Ginny with rage. "Who are you more afraid of: You-Know-Who or Harry?" she yelled. "You'd just leave him upstairs to bleed to death just because you think that he's a psychopath?" 

Using her free arm, she shoved Percy out of the way. "No --- wait --- don't!" he cried, but Ron and Ginny just ignored him and went into the kitchen.

Everybody was gathered there, including Hermione, who took one look at Harry and gasped in fright.

"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, rushing towards them. "Oh Harry dear, you're hurt!"

"What are you doing?" Mad-Eye Moody barked. He brandished his wand and pointed it at Harry. "Bringing him downstairs… you'll get us all killed!"

"You don't understand!" Ginny explained. "Harry's in control --- at least for the moment! Tell them, Harry!"

"Everyone, it's me," Harry said hoarsely, "but you have to put me back upstairs… he's going to come back any minute, I can feel…" He froze, his eyes widening. "You…"

Ginny followed his gaze to see Wormtail tied up. His eyes widened in fright at the sight of Harry, and he struggled even harder out of his bonds. 

"Oh no," she whispered, realizing her mistake. Voldemort said the other night that he was strong when Harry was afraid or angry… if Harry lost control, Voldemort would come back…

"YOU!" Harry roared, his face contorting into rage. "WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?"

"Harry, calm down!" Ginny shouted, trying to restrain him. 

"We know how you feel, but get a hold of yourself!" Ron said, trying to keep his grip on Harry.

"YOU --- DON'T --- KNOW --- HOW --- I --- FEEL!" Harry screamed. In spite of his injuries, he yanked himself out of their arms and started towards Wormtail.

Ginny tried to grab him again, only her arms and legs felt frozen. She looked around and saw that nearly everyone had tried to get to Harry, but stood as still as statues.

"What's going on?" Mr. Weasley exclaimed.

"Voldemort," Dumbledore replied simply, his eyes blazing. "He gave him his powers… and Harry's using them to make sure we can't stop him."

"Oh no…" Hermione moaned, frozen in place. "Harry, don't! Please be reasonable!"

"Don't do anything you'll regret, Harry!" Dumbledore called out.

"You stay out of this!" Harry snarled. Then he rounded on Wormtail. "This is all your fault!" he rasped. "How dare you show your face here!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Wormtail whimpered in terror, trying in vain to undo his ropes. "They brought me here against my will. Harry --- Harry, I didn't kill Sirius… I never would have hurt him… he was my best friend!"

"_LIAR!_" Harry screamed, making a clutching gesture in his fist and Wormtail started gasping for breath.

"You betrayed my parents to Voldemort," he went on, every syllable trembling with fury. "You framed Sirius for what _you _did. You brought Voldemort back to power. You killed Cedric Diggory.

"Sirius lost twelve years of his life in Azkaban because of you! I should have let him kill you when I had the chance! Nothing good came out of your life! Because of you, I never had a family; I had to spend my entire childhood with people who don't give a damn about me! And Sirius had to spend the rest of _his_ life on the run! Why should he die when filth like you get to live?"

"Harry… please…" Wormtail begged.

"I'm not finished yet!" Harry hissed. His eyes were starting to glow again, but it was still Harry talking. "I lost my family because of you! I lost my godfather because of you! You took everything from me!" His voice was on the verge of breaking with grief. "EVERYTHING!"

He stopped. He started to shake. "Oh no…" he whispered. "No… no! He's coming, he's coming, he's coming, he's coming…"

His eyes suddenly went from green to red. A twisted smile curved his face. "I'm here," Voldemort said wickedly.

Ginny's insides turned to ice. Voldemort was loose… and none of them could move!

Taking no notice of anyone else in the room, he turned to Wormtail. He grabbed his arm and rolled up the sleeve of his robe, revealing the Dark Mark. He pressed one of his fingers to the brand. Wormtail let out a howl of pain.

"What is this, Tom?" Dumbledore demanded.

Voldemort smirked. "Your execution, Albus."

Within moments, the door to the house burst open. A group of hooded men in masks stormed into the kitchen. One of them stepped towards Voldemort and bowed. "We have come as you wish, My Lord," the voice of Lucius Malfoy drawled.

"Excellent," Voldemort cackled, "but do not attack them until I command you!"

"What are you talking about?" Wormtail shrieked. "That isn't the Dark Lord, that's the Potter boy!"

Voldemort turned to face Wormtail. "Oh no, Wormtail, it's me all right," he hissed. "Potter has kindly allowed me to use his body for the time being…"

"M-M-Master…" Wormtail stammered in shock.

"And now that my plan has come together, I'm afraid you are no longer useful to me," Voldemort continued, advancing on Wormtail.

"W-What d-do you mean?" Wormtail whispered, frightened. "I followed your orders, I spied on the Weasleys… I didn't mean to get caught! I beg your forgiveness, My Lord!"

"I _knew_ you'd get caught," Voldemort said coldly. "Did you actually think I'd be foolish enough to have _you _get information about Dumbledore when I could simply inhabit Potter's body to find out for myself? 

"No, Wormtail… I ordered you to come here because I know of Potter's hatred for you. I purposely harmed Potter today so that those insipid friends of his would free him and bring him to you. Once he saw you, his rage made me even more powerful… he can't fight me anymore. Now that I'm in control, I will finish off Dumbledore and his Order once and for all. But first," he paused, raising his hand, "I have a deal to fulfil. I promised Potter I'd kill all those responsible for Black's death, and now he will get his wish."

"No!" Wormtail wailed, cowering. "Please, Master! I have been faithful to you… I brought you back. My allegiance to Your Lordship is nothing but…" 

Voldemort cut him off. "Bored now." A beam of light shot out of his finger at Wormtail, blasting a hole through his chest. He died before he even hit the floor.

Mrs. Weasley and Hermione screamed. Ginny felt as though she were going to throw up. _It's all over, _she thought. _We're all going to die! _She exchanged a glance with Ron, who looked at her fearfully. _It's our entire fault… we never should have brought him downstairs!_

"I told you!" Percy gasped to Ron and Ginny. "I told you it was a trap!"

"Ah, Percy," Voldemort hissed. He walked towards Percy, who was still unable to move. "The prodigal son… yes, Potter's memories have informed me of you as well. You rejected your own family in favor of the Ministry… You think that Potter is a lunatic. How ironic… because it's through him that you will meet your own end today."

"NO!" Mr. Weasley shouted. "Don't do anything to my son!"

"And why not?" Voldemort leered. "After all, he _abandoned_ you. And he thinks that your precious surrogate son is raving mad for speaking the truth! You favored Potter over your own son, did you not?"

"_NO!_" Mrs. Weasley cried, struggling to move. "That's not true; we love both of them! We didn't take sides! Don't you dare harm my son, you monster!"

"Well," Voldemort said with a sinister laugh, "let's see how much you love Potter after this!" He fired another beam of light at Percy, knocking him clean off his feet.

"NO! PERCY!" Ginny screamed, but it was too late. Her older brother's corpse lay stretched out in front of her. 

Voldemort let out a cold, cruel laugh. "That was certainly amusing," he commented. "It's a shame Potter will die soon; it would have been interesting to see how much psychological damage the responsibility of three deaths will do to him. Ah, no matter…"

He turned to the Death Eaters, who brandished their wands. "Destroy them all," he ordered.

To be continued…

__


	11. Harry's Ascension

Disclaimer: A lot of this chapter was based on the episode of_ Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ entitled, "Grave".

****

Chapter Eleven: Harry's Ascension

Icy terror surged through Ginny. This was it. This was really it. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide… they were all going to die. All their attempts to save Harry were for nothing.

__

The Death Eaters pulled out their wands, ready to strike. Voldemort smirked, his eyes glowing even brighter. "You don't have to just stand there," he taunted. "The paralysis spell that Potter and I put on you was only temporary. What fun would it be to just kill you all if you didn't put up a good fight?"

This was true; all of the Order members found that they could move. They pulled out their wands, and charged at the Death Eaters, who attacked.

The Weasleys and Hermione ducked under the kitchen table to avoid the curses that were being shot at them. "You get out of here now!" Mr. Weasley hissed. "Get as far away from here as you can!"

"No way!" Fred said, digging into his pocket for his own wand. "We're not leaving!"

"_Get out of here right now!_" Mrs. Weasley shrieked. Her face was a mixture of horror and anger. "I won't let the rest of my children get killed!"

"We're staying here," George said vehemently, also drawing out his wand.

"We're going to fight too," Ron agreed. "We fought the Death Eaters a few months ago!"

"And you nearly got killed!" Mr. Weasley shot back. He reached out and took a teacup from the table. He tapped it with his wand and muttered, "_Portus_." Then he held it out to Fred.

"This will take all of you to Grimmauld Place," he instructed. "You stay there until we there."

Red and green lights were flashing all around them. Dumbledore was shouting instructions to the Order members, but it was impossible to make out what exactly he was saying over all the chaos. Ginny was glad that she couldn't see what was going on; she didn't want to find out if anyone was killed just yet. In spite of her fear, she wasn't about to abandon her parents or the Order. 

"No way!" she said fiercely to her father. "We aren't going to leave you here!"

"Don't worry about us, we'll be fine! For God's sake, just leave!" Mrs. Weasley pleaded

"What about Harry?" Hermione whispered.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley exchanged dark looks with each other. "I… don't know if there's anything we can do about that," Mr. Weasley said slowly.

"What do you mean?" Ron demanded. "You _are _going to get Harry back, aren't you?"

Neither of them said anything. "Aren't you?" Ron repeated, his voice shaking.

Mrs. Weasley's eyes filled with tears. "Oh Ron, I'm so sorry, dear," she whispered. "They've tried everything… but it looks like the only way to end all this is to… end Harry's misery."

In the midst of the chaos surrounding them, time seemed to freeze for Ginny. Did she hear them right? They were going to kill Harry?

"No," she said at once, shaking her head. "No, you can't!"

"We have to," Mr. Weasley said grimly. "Dumbledore said that there was nothing they could do. You-Know-Who's hold on Harry is too strong. No counterspell can undo it…" 

"You're going to kill him?" Ron asked in horror.

"It's the only way," Mr. Weasley said sadly. "If we don't, we're all going to die --- including Harry. If we do it, at least it will be quick and painless. He probably won't feel a thing…"

It was so unreal. Ginny's parents loved Harry as though he were one of their own. They'd never kill him, not even in the most desperate of circumstances. Surely, there had to be some way, some miraculous plan that would save him…

But the grave faces of their parents spoke the truth; there was no other way. Harry was going to die.

__

He can't! Ginny thought desperately, tears filling her eyes. _He can't die like this!_

She considered Harry a part of her life, just as her family and friends were. He had been in her life for nearly six years --- or more, if you counted how she had heard his story in her early childhood. And without him, a piece of her would be missing. Without him, life wouldn't be the same…

Perhaps it's better this way, a voice in her head said. _An end to pain is better than pain, after all._

But I don't want him to die! she cried silently.

__

Why? the voice asked carelessly. _What's it to you?_

He's my friend…

No, he's not just your friend. The feelings you have for him are more than just friendly feelings. You can deny it all you want, but it doesn't erase the truth ---

Ginny tried to block out these thoughts. _There has to be some way, _she thought desperately. _Something --- **anything** --- that will help Harry…_

Suddenly, she remembered what Harry had told her the other night: "_He drained all my emotions so I couldn't force him out. I can't feel anything anymore… only fear and rage."_

The only reason Voldemort could stay in Harry's body as long as he wanted was because Harry rejected all his emotions but two: fear and anger. Fear and anger made Voldemort strong. But happiness and sorrow…

She was no longer aware of the shouts and curses being fired all around her. She knew what she had to do.

"Hurry up and take the Portkey!" Mr. Weasley hissed. "Don't waste any time!"

"No," Ginny heard herself say. She stood up from under the table.

"Ginny!" Hermione screamed. "What are you doing?"

"Get --- down!" Ron shouted, trying to pull her back under the table, but Ginny wrenched herself out of his grip and calmly walked towards Voldemort…

One of the Death Eaters spotted her and raised his wand, but Voldemort held up his hand to stop him. "No," he hissed. "Leave her to me… I want to kill her myself…"

"Don't you dare touch my daughter!" Mr. Weasley bellowed, emerging from the table and pointing his wand at Voldemort.

Ginny stepped in front of him. "Dad, don't!" she yelled. "It's all right, I know what I'm doing!"

Voldemort smirked. "You seem to have a rather strong death wish, Ginny."

Ginny took a deep breath and faced Voldemort. "Harry, I know you're in there," she said in as steady a voice she could muster. "It isn't too late… you can still stop this."

"Potter can't hear you anymore," Voldemort sneered. "He'll be dead as soon as I finish my business here… and in a second, you will be too…" Another ball of light was forming in his hand.

"I love you, Harry!" she cried out at once.

Voldemort lowered his hand. "_This _is your big plan?" he asked coldly. "To tell Potter that you love him? What a joke…"

"It's true," Ginny confessed. She started speaking very quickly, in case Voldemort attacked in the next second. "I did have some stupid little crush on you when you first showed up at The Burrow, and even though I didn't want to admit it, I think I still have feelings for you. And it isn't just because you're famous! It's because you're one of the bravest people I've ever known. 

"Think about everything you've done; you've saved Hogwarts so many times. You even took on Voldemort when you were eleven! I don't know anyone else who would be willing to do that. And you always try and help people. You saved so many lives… including mine! I know that you feel bad that you fell for Voldemort's trick last year, but doesn't matter! What matters is that you were willing to risk everything if it meant saving Sirius! That shows how much you care about others!

"I know you miss Sirius… I know that you've gone through nothing but hell lately… and I know that I can't know exactly how you feel, but I'll try to help you through it as much as I can!" Ginny swallowed, tears spilling down her cheeks. "There are still people who love you, Harry, in spite of how much you've changed… 

"When I first met you, you just this skinny, shy, sweet boy. Now, you've got a temper, and you are a bit of a prat at times… it doesn't matter to me. You're still the same brave person I've known. I love shy, sweet Harry, and I love angry Harry! Are you listening to what I'm saying, Harry James Potter? I love you."

No sooner had she finished, she pinned Harry's body against the wall. She closed her eyes, leaned forward, and kissed him on the lips.

When she pulled back, Voldemort's eyes were glaring at her, twisting Harry's face into an expression of revulsion. 

And yet the redness was beginning to fade from his eyes. Harry's face was softening in confusion and shock…

***

Harry was only aware of the cold darkness. He heard sounds that seemed to be coming from a thousand miles away. Though distant they were, he could tell that they were screams. Screams of pain, torment, and anger…

He was causing this. Everyone he cared about was suffering, because of him. Because of his own stupid mistake, he had doomed all of them.

__

Just kill me already, Voldemort, he thought. _It's what I deserve…_

The voices were becoming louder every second. Vaguely, he recognized one of them as Ginny's voice. She was talking to him --- pleading with him…

"It isn't too late…. you can still stop this!"

__

No, I can't. It's too late. I can't fight him, he's too strong…

"I love you, Harry!"

_What? _What had she just said? Was he hearing things? 

Ginny's voice was becoming clearer and louder by the minute. She was talking about all the good things he had done in his life… and how he shouldn't blame himself for Sirius's death…

He had been told all this more times than he could stand. _"It's not your fault, Harry." "There's nothing you could have done, Harry." _And worst of all, _"We know how you feel, Harry."_

Rubbish. It was pure rubbish. Nobody knew how he felt; they had never experienced this kind of pain themselves…

"I know you miss Sirius," she went on. "I know that you've gone through nothing but hell lately… and I know that I can't know exactly how you feel, but I'll try to help you through it as much as I can! There are still people who love you, Harry, in spite of how much you've changed…"

_Have I? _Harry wondered bitterly. _After all, I'm not the same person I used to be. I used to take crap from everyone --- Dumbledore, Snape, the Dursleys… every single one of them. Was that supposed to be a good thing?_

"When I first met you, you just this skinny, shy, sweet boy. Now, you've got a temper, and you are a bit of a prat at times… it doesn't matter to me. You're still the same brave person I've known. I love shy, sweet Harry, and I love angry Harry!"

Impossible… no one had ever loved him. At least, no one had ever said that they loved him. His parents had undoubtedly loved him, and they were dead. And while Sirius had cared for him, he had never outright said that he loved him. Either way, he was gone too.

All he ever gave people was misery, and he had received it in turn. Even now he was doing this… and she said that she _loved_ him?

"Are you listening to what I'm saying, Harry James Potter? I love you."

Suddenly, Harry regained the feeling in his body. He felt himself being pushed against a hard wall. Something warm and soft pressed against his mouth. It was a familiar sensation, and yet this time it didn't feel so… wet.

Then, all at once, his sight returned. Everything was blurry at first, but he could tell he was in the Weasleys' kitchen. Red and green lights were flashing all about… hooded people were chasing after the familiar forms of the Order members…

And right in front of him was Ginny. She was staring at him intently, tears streaming out of her eyes.

For a moment, Harry stood there, stunned. She'd meant what she said. If the sincerity of her words wasn't evident in her voice, it had certainly been evident in the kiss she had just given him.

She loved him --- they all did. Even after everything that had happened, they loved him.

He felt something hot and wet slide down his cheek. And another. And another…

"What is this?" Voldemort hissed in outrage, using Harry's mouth. He turned his head towards Ginny, who looked shocked. "You!" He forced Harry to lunge towards Ginny. "I will kill you for this, girl!"

"No!" Harry shouted. He froze, surprised. Voldemort was still inside him, and yet he could use his own voice. He also could move his own body. With that in mind, he willed his own legs to stop moving. They did.

Harry suddenly felt warm, as though a beacon had been lit inside of his mind. An aura of energy seemed to surround him. Unaware of what he was doing, he waved his arms in the air.

The Death Eaters suddenly stopped shooting curses, unable to move. They were frozen in place, just as the Weasleys, Hermione, and the Order had been. And this time, the hold wouldn't last just a few seconds.

As though he'd been planning to do it all along, Harry extended both of his arms towards the walls. "Get out of my body!" he roared in a deep, harsh voice unlike his own.

"No!" Voldemort shrieked, still using Harry's mouth. 

"You've lost, Voldemort!" Harry bellowed. "You can't stay in my body for long --- I can feel again!"

"I will not be thwarted so easily this time, Potter!" Voldemort laughed cruelly. "Even if you force me out, you'll still lose! You'll die the minute I leave you!"

"I don't care," Harry replied serenely. "If that's the way it has to be… then so be it."

He then concentrated his thoughts and emotions on memories of Sirius. Sirius, whom at one point in his life he had thought to be a murderer. Sirius walking up to a mountainside cave, disguised as the shaggy black dog with a newspaper in his mouth, walking. Sirius, his hand on Harry's shoulder as he told Dumbledore what had happened the night Voldemort returned; Sirius merrily decorating Grimmauld Place for Christmas; Sirius falling through the veil in the Department of Mysteries…

Images of Ginny flashed through his mind as well. Ginny, who used to blush every time Harry was nearby. Ginny, lying unconscious in the Chamber of Secrets. Ginny flying around the Quidditch field as the Seeker. Ginny, giving him a chocolate egg sent by her mother for Easter…

She had been the only one he felt he could really talk to during this entire, miserable summer. She was no longer Ron's little sister in his eyes, but a friend of almost equal age…

All the sorrow, anger, pains, happiness, and excitement that he had ever felt was drawn up from inside of him. He heard Voldemort screaming, unable to bear all this. _Yes, _Harry thought maliciously. _Get out of my body, you bastard!  
_

He felt a tearing sensation in his body. Voldemort was leaving --- he was free!

No sooner had he had he been freed, he collapsed to the floor. All of his strength was gone. Everything grew hazy around him; he knew he was dying. 

And yet Harry felt glad. He had won. Whatever happened to him now didn't matter.

His body was growing numb. He was falling back into the cold darkness…

__

For you, Ginny. I'm sorry for everything. And for you, Sirius. I'll be seeing you soon…

To be continued…

****


	12. After the Storm

Author's Note: This is a notice to Calen, who keeps complaining that this is an H/G fic. This story was classified as an H/G fic. If you don't like the H/G pairing, then why are you reading this fic? I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but I needed to get that off my chest.

****

Chapter Twelve: After the Storm

_Once more Harry found himself in the Department of Mysteries, looking at the veil. Somehow, he knew that this time it wasn't a dream. This time, he was really going to find out what lay beyond the veil…_

The incoherent whispering grew louder as he stepped up to the dais and pushed aside the veil, revealing a large hole. A bright, shimmering light streamed out of the hole, beckoning him to step inside.

Feeling calmer than he had ever been in his life, he entered the hole. He could see nothing except empty space all around him… yet he could still hear voices whispering all around him.

**Everything is going to be all right, **a voice inside his head said. And he believed it.

A strange feeling was overwhelming him. It was nothing like he had ever felt before. This was beyond anger, beyond fear, beyond even happiness…

_He felt complete. As though a void inside of him had been filled. Everything around him seemed like a dream, only it wasn't. He knew where he was, and yet he didn't care. Nothing mattered to him now. The people that he had cared about were safe now. He was home now._

Or so he thought.

Suddenly shadows began to emerge out of the white nothingness. **They** were the ones who kept whispering all around the veil. Were they ghosts? No, Harry could see that they were opaque, solid people.

The closest one to him was a tall, gaunt man with shaggy black hair. It was Sirius.

"Sirius!" Harry tried to cry out, but for some strange reason, no voice came out of his mouth.

Sirius drew nearer to him, smiling rather sadly. He pointed towards the hole from which Harry had entered. "Go back," he whispered, his voice echoing through the room.

Harry was confused. No… he didn't want to go back; he had just got here. He was done, finished. There was no going back.

Two more figures approached him --- a man with untidy hair and glasses and a woman with green eyes and long red hair.

"Go back," the woman urged.

"No!" Harry tried to shout. "I don't want to go back!"

"You must go back," the man said quietly.

Other shadows emerged from the light and gathered around Harry. "Go back," they kept repeating. "Go back… go back…go back…"

**This doesn't make any sense, **Harry thought. **I'm dead now, aren't I?**

"It isn't your time, mate," Sirius said softly.

Harry felt hundreds of cold, wispy hands grab him. He tried to struggle. He didn't want to leave. If he left, the inner peace that he felt would be gone, perhaps forever. Everything would be difficult…

Then he realized that he didn't have a choice.

Everything moved like a dream. The figures gave him a gentle push, and he felt himself float back towards the veil. Sirius and the other figures were waving at him…

"Good-bye…"

***

Bright light blazed through his closed eyelids. He tried to move, but his entire body felt numb. His fogged-up brain couldn't remember what had happened to him, nor could it figure out where he was.

Then he remembered. He had forced Voldemort out of his body. It was over… and yet he was alive. How had he managed to survive?

He felt something soft and warm that had a tight grip on his hand. Blearily, he opened his eyes to find himself lying in a bed. His surroundings were slightly blurred --- someone must have removed his glasses. 

Still, he was able to make out a familiar red-haired figure seated in a chair close to him. She appeared to be asleep; her head was resting on the bed, an inch or two away from his right arm. She was holding his hand.

__

How long has she been here? Harry wondered bewilderedly. _How long have **I** been here? And what about the others --- are they here? _Too many questions filled Harry's mind. There was only one way to find the answers.

He winced as he sat up; every part of his body was extremely sore. Slowly, he reached out and gently shook her shoulder to wake her.

Ginny blinked as she sat up. She glanced at Harry for a moment, then looked at the door. She did a double take. Her jaw dropped.

"_Harry_!" she squealed, throwing her arms around them. "Oh Harry, you're _alive_!"

"Erm --- yes," Harry grimaced. "But I'm still in a lot of pain..."

"Oh --- sorry," Ginny pulled away from him, beaming. "We didn't think you were going to make it! Dumbledore was surprised that you were still alive after Voldemort left your body!"

"Dumbledore doesn't know _everything_," Harry couldn't help saying. "Wait a minute… you just said his name."

Ginny shrugged. "If you can say it, anyone can. It's only a name."

He looked around. "How long have I been here?"

"Almost a week," Ginny replied, squeezing his hand softly. "The others are in the tearoom. They were starting to give up hope that you'd ever wake up…" 

"What happened after Voldemort left?"

"That wandless Full-Body Bind you put on the Death Eaters restrained them while Dumbledore contacted the Ministry. They were thrown into Azkaban --- only I don't the Ministry will be able to keep them there without the Dementors to guard them. Wormtail's body was turned over to the Ministry… you should have seen the look on Fudge's face when he saw it…"

"Body?" Harry blurted out.

Ginny's eyes widened. "Oh that's right," she murmured. "You don't remember. Voldemort was the one who did it…"

"Did what?" Harry demanded.

Ginny sighed. "Wormtail's dead. Voldemort killed him after he summoned all the Death Eaters to The Burrow."

"Oh my God…" Harry said hoarsely.

"You didn't do it," Ginny said fiercely. "It was Voldemort, not you!

"But I wanted it to happen," Harry said miserably. "I wanted him to get his, just like Kreacher…"

"If you ask me, the bastard had it coming," Ginny said indifferently. "I don't even feel sorry for him. Besides, with the body as evidence, Fudge had no choice but to believe us about Sirius. Look!" She bent down and retrieved a recent issue of the _Daily Prophet_ from the floor with the front-page headline of "SIRIUS BLACK POSTHUMOUSLY PROVEN INNOCENT".

Harry was silent. This was what he'd wanted from the beginning, wasn't it? Wormtail was dead and Sirius was proven innocent. He should have been happy…

Yet he wasn't. Proving Sirius's innocence hadn't brought him back from the dead. He was not alive to enjoy his newfound freedom and mended reputation. Even if he were alive, the scars he'd received from Azkaban would never truly heal. Harry hated to admit it, but maybe it was better that Sirius had died. At least there was a possibility that he could finally find peace…

And as for Wormtail's fate… Harry had wanted him dead. After all the things Wormtail had done to him, it was more than justifiable. But revenge had a bitter flavor. Wormtail's death didn't undo the terrible things he had done. Harry's parents were still dead, Voldemort was still at large, and Sirius had still lived out the remainder of his life on the run. It hadn't changed anything.

"Is everyone all right then?" Harry asked after a while. "Nobody else got hurt, did they?"

Ginny bit her lip. Her eyes filled with tears.

Harry felt his stomach sink horribly. This wasn't a good sign. "Everyone is all right, aren't they?" he asked again.

"You need to rest," Ginny said weakly. "You've been through enough…"

"I'm fine!" Harry shouted. "Now tell me what the bloody hell is going on!"

Ginny sighed in defeat. "Percy is dead," she said sadly.

***

__

Telling Harry about Percy's death was just about the worst thing Ginny had to do. Although a week had passed since it had happened, it was still painful for her family to cope with.

The most painful thing about it was that not all of them had reconciled with Percy. In spite of his many faults, he was still Ginny's brother. He had been horrible to the family, but no matter how angry Ginny and her brothers had been at him, they admitted that deep down they never truly stopped caring about him. And now there was nothing anyone could do to redress the situation.

Harry reacted exactly as Ginny had expected: he blamed himself.

"It's all my fault," Harry whispered, his face in his hands. "I killed him."

"No, you didn't!" Ginny insisted desperately. "It was Voldemort, not you! Voldemort!"

"I'm a murderer…"

"_You aren't a murderer!_" Ginny exploded. "If any of us thought that you were a murderer, then why would we be here? Why would we be worried sick about someone who killed Percy? Because you _didn't_! We all care about you, Harry, even if you think we just feel sorry for you!"

Harry shook his head. "Even if that's true, it's still my fault," he said tonelessly. "I never should have taken Voldemort's offer."

"You were angry," Ginny said gently. "You were upset. Anybody would have done that."

"How do you know?" Harry asked miserably.

"Because that's exactly how I got myself into that whole mess with the diary," Ginny said quietly. "It was my first year at Hogwarts. I was scared that I wouldn't fit in and I was starting to get homesick. I didn't have any friends and my brothers kept teasing me. All I wanted was a friend… that's why I started trusting Tom, and look how that turned out!"

"It's not the same thing," Harry protested. "You never killed anyone…"

"But I almost did," Ginny said, her voice breaking as she remembered the horrible ordeal. "So on some basic level, I do know how you feel right now, Harry."

Harry glared at her. "No, you don't."

"Are you talking about that prophecy?" Ginny blurted out. "Because I know about that too."

Harry stared at her, horrified. He started sputtering. "How did you --- did Dumbledore ---?"

"Dumbledore didn't tell me, Voldemort did," Ginny informed him. "The night I tried to contact you. I won't tell the others…"

"But let me guess," Harry interrupted wearily. "You think that it would be better if I told them myself soon?"

Ginny shook her head. "No."

Harry stared at her in astonishment.

"What, you think I was going to act like Hermione and start nagging you about keeping secrets?" she asked incredulously. "I just don't think you should tell them now; enough is going on as it is. And it's your choice. You should tell them when you're ready to."

Ginny had thought all of this over while Harry was unconscious. Even though it would be difficult to keep something this important from the others, she could handle it. Besides, Harry couldn't keep this to himself. If he refused to share it with Ron and Hermione, then she would share this secret. At least she could help him cope with it.

Harry sighed. "That's the problem. I don't think I can _ever_ tell them. I mean, it's not like I enjoy keeping it secret… but if I told them, they'd never look at me the same way again…"

"Well _I_ know it," Ginny said simply. "And you look the same to me."

"They wouldn't understand --- _you_ wouldn't understand. You don't know what it's like to have your possible future planned out before you…"

"You're right," Ginny said softly. "I don't. But you shouldn't think about that now, Harry. You should concentrate on getting better. We'll worry about the prophecy later."

Harry smiled sadly. "I don't want to think about it at all."

The two of them were silent for a long time. A sudden thought occurred to Ginny: did Harry remember what she had told him the night Voldemort had left his body?

__

That doesn't matter right now, she chided herself. Although Harry had survived Voldemort's possession, he wasn't out of the woods yet. Sirius was still dead, and so was Percy. He wasn't about to let go of his guilt any time soon. And then there was the prophecy to think about…

_We'll just have to help him one day at a time, _she thought. _Well, me more than anyone else…_

She stood up. "I'd better tell my family and Hermione that you're awake. Dumbledore's here too… they'll all want to see you."

"No," Harry said quickly. "I can't… "

Ginny was shocked. "Harry, they want to see you! They've been worried sick!"

"I can't face them. Not after what happened…"

"There's no use hiding," Ginny said firmly. "You're going to have to face them sometime. I already told you that we don't blame you."

"Oh all right," Harry said reluctantly. "I'll see them… but I don't want to see Dumbledore."

"I know you're mad at Dumbledore," Ginny said gently. "I don't blame you… but he's human. Even he makes mistakes."

Harry shook his head. "Not right now, Gin."

"You have to face him sometime, Harry. It might as well be now. What are you going to do when term starts again and Dumbledore wants to see you?"

"He didn't want to see me much last year," he snorted. "Why would he change his mind?"

"Well, too bad, he's going to come in anyway," Ginny snapped, starting to walk out of the room. "Honestly, Harry, you can be such a prat at times…" She couldn't help but smile at her own words. "It's good to see that you're acting more like yourself."

To be continued…

__


	13. Epilogue

****

Epilogue

Harry had to spend quite some time in St. Mungo's in order for his wounds to be completely healed. The _physical _wounds, at least. The emotional wounds would take much longer…

Looking back on it, he found that he didn't have very many memories of his hospital stay. As was the case in the aftermath of Cedric Diggory's death, it may have been too painful to take in anymore.

What he did recall was the meeting with the Weasleys. Ginny had been right. Despite their grief for Percy, they didn't blame him in the slightest. They forgave him for his rash decision… even Ron and Hermione weren't angry at them. But part of Harry was still angry with himself for falling into Voldemort's trap.

He was also still mad at Dumbledore, who had also been up to visit him at St. Mungo's. He wouldn't even speak to Dumbledore. However, it didn't prevent Dumbledore from talking to him…

~~

_"I know you are still angry with me, Harry," Dumbledore said quietly._

Harry didn't even reply. He simply turned away from Dumbledore and lay on his side. He didn't even want to look at him.

"It's completely justifiable," Dumbledore went on calmly, "but like Miss Weasley said, I'm only a man; I've made many more mistakes in my life, just like **you** have. I did what I thought was right…"

**Yeah, right, **Harry thought bitterly. **What was so right about staying away from me when I needed you the most? What was so right about keeping the truth from me all this time? Nothing!**

"Yes, I know this doesn't make up for what I did," Dumbledore said, as though he were reading Harry's mind. "All I can do is hope that I can earn back your trust someday…

"On the other hand, now you see how feeling pain is your greatest strength, even though it makes you feel so weak. When Miss Weasley helped you to feel again, you were able to force Voldemort out of your body and survive --- again. Because of this, I think that Sirius's death may have had some higher meaning to you…"

Harry turned to face him, stunned.

****

"In my experience, nothing has ever happened by accident," Dumbledore said softly. "Sirius's death still is a terrible blow to you. And yet it also showed how the people you care about could make you so powerful. Sirius is gone, but there are people who still care about you. They didn't give up hope, even when it seemed as though you would die."

Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled. "People still care about you, Harry," he repeated, rising from his chair. "No matter what you think, you are never alone as long as they are still alive."

He walked out of the room, leaving Harry in thoughtful silence.

~~~

There was truth to Dumbledore's words: there _were_ people who cared about them. Harry realized that instead of wasting his life mourning over the dead, he should concentrate on the living…

What Ginny had said to him the night he broke free of Voldemort remained preserved in his memory. She had said that she loved him… but that didn't make sense. Hadn't Hermione said that Ginny had long since got over him?

Perhaps Ginny meant that she loved him as a friend. Only why had she kissed him ---- _on the lips_?

Harry wasn't sure what to make of Ginny's feelings. He knew that the only way to find out was to ask her himself…

***

Harry was finally released from St Mungo's a week later. Mr. Weasley took him back to The Burrow (via Floo powder), where the other Weasleys and Hermione were awaiting him. Somber as they looked, they gave him a warm welcome. 

At least they _tried_ to…

"Oh Harry dear, I'm so glad that you're all right!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, sweeping him into her arms for a hug.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," Harry muttered. _All right? I'm alive, but I'm everything **but **"all right!" I don't think I'll ever be all right for a long time._

Ron and Hermione stepped forward as soon as Mrs. Weasley let go of him. "It's good to have you back," Ron said, giving him an awkward pat on the shoulder.

"Yes, we're glad you're okay," Hermione said rather timidly.

Harry stared at them. He had no memory of what Voldemort had done or said before he had left his body, only he had a feeling that Voldemort had done a lot more emotional damage than physical. He guessed Voldemort must have realized that Ron and Hermione were his best friends, and he used that to his advantage. He must have said some truly dreadful things… and all of them came out of Harry's own mouth.

_It was Voldemort talking, not me! _Harry wanted to shout at them. _How could you think I would even say such horrible things!_

And then he remembered his harsh treatment of his friends --- Hermione in particular --- the night before Voldemort possessed him. Although Hermione's compassion towards Kreacher still drove him crazy with anger, what he had told her was awful. He couldn't blame them for being upset about whatever Voldemort said to them after that.

He caught sight of Ginny behind Ron and Hermione. Ginny glanced in his direction. _They aren't mad at you,_ her expression said. _You know that._

But they're afraid of me, Harry thought grimly, his heart sinking. _That's just as bad, if not worse…_

Fred and George greeted him a little more warmly than Ron and Hermione, but Harry could tell that they were somewhat distant as well. Ginny was the only one who greeted Harry normally.

"Well, who's ready for dinner?" Mrs. Weasley asked in a falsely bright voice.

Harry pictured a scene at the dinner table: him sitting next to Ron and Hermione. Both stayed a good distance away from him, nervously glancing at him every now and then. Neither of them was saying much, except for an occasional, "Pass the gravy…" The mere idea was enough to eliminate what remained of his appetite.

"Sorry, I'm not hungry," Harry lied quickly. "I think I'll go outside…"

"Oh, but it's your first night back!" Mrs. Weasley protested. "I don't think St. Mungo's provided you with very good meals…"

"No, it's all right," Harry replied. "I'm fine, really…"

Before she could argue further, he walked out of the house and into the garden. He sat in his usual spot by the pond.

_Well, what were you expecting?_ Harry told himself bitterly. _You think that the second you survive another near-death experience that things would suddenly get better? Nothing's changed. Sirius is still dead, Voldemort's still at large, I'm still destined to either kill or die in a prophecy…and to make things worse, my two best friends are scared of me, even though it was Voldemort talking and not me!_

Nothing had really changed since before Voldemort had possessed him. Even the rage inside of him that had reached a fever pitch during the summer was still inside of him. Only now it was more directed towards himself…

Harry heard someone coming out of the house and approaching him. _I should have known it wouldn't be long until someone starting "checking up" on me_, he thought irritably. He knew that they only did this because they cared, yet it still bothered him. When he wanted to be alone, he wanted to be alone. What part of that didn't they understand?

He looked up. To his relief, the person walking towards him was Ginny.

"Wow, you've been back for about five minutes, and already you go off to brood," she commented dryly.

Harry flushed. "I just wanted to be alone."

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you really want?"

"Well, I don't mind being alone with you," he admitted.

Ginny smiled and sat down next to him. "Look, don't worry about Ron and Hermione," she said, getting straight to the point. "They still care about you; they were really worried about you when you were in the hospital. They're just…"

"Uncomfortable being around me," Harry finished her sentence. "What _did _Voldemort say to them?"

Ginny frowned. "Do I even want to know?" Harry asked.

She shook her head. "I don't think so. He said some really awful things to them. I _know_ that they know it wasn't you, only it still hurt them. Just give them time…"

"I know," Harry said heavily.

"So apart from that, how are you doing?" she wanted to know.

"Bad," he confessed. 

"Because of Sirius?" she guessed.

Harry sighed. "I'm still mad --- at everyone. I'm mad at Dumbledore for keeping secrets. I'm mad at Wormtail, Kreacher, and Bellatrix Lestrange for what they did to him, even though they're dead. And I'm mad at myself for falling for Voldemort's trap --- _again_ --- and causing another person's death…"

"I told you that Percy's death wasn't --- " Ginny started to say, but then stopped. "Are you talking about Sirius?"

Harry nodded. "It was my idea to go to the Ministry that night. I was so scared that Voldemort had really captured Sirius that I didn't even consider that it was a trick. If I hadn't been such an idiot, Sirius and the others would have come after me… and he'd still be alive."

"Oh Harry," Ginny said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You weren't being an idiot. Anyone else would have done the same…"

"Not according to Hermione," Harry said bitterly. "She thought it was a trap from the very beginning."

"Well, I'd like to see her thinking straight if someone she loved was in danger," Ginny retorted. 

"I was still being stupid," Harry said tonelessly. "It was completely reckless."

"It _was_," Ginny admitted. "But it also showed how much you cared about Sirius."

Harry managed to smile. "You know what? I'm kind of mad at him for leaving me. I know that it isn't his fault; it's not like he wanted to die. But I'm angry that he isn't here when I need him…

"I know this sounds stupid… but before all this, I always thought that Sirius would get his name cleared someday. Then I could leave the Dursleys for good and live with him. For once, I could actually look forward to school holidays …" He shook his head shamefully. "Stupid. That was never going to happen."

"It's not stupid at all," Ginny assured him. "Fred, George, and Ron are still mad at Percy for not being there for us all last year… then he just came back and expected us to forgive him… and then he left again."

"What about you?" Harry inquired.

Ginny sighed. "I'm mad at him too… I just can't believe he's gone. I can't picture my life without _any_ of my brothers…"

"So how are you getting through this?"

"Barely," Ginny replied wryly. "I just get through today… and then the next day… But I'm told that it does get better."

Harry snorted. "Yeah, right. How can you even _think_ that?"

"Right now, it's the only thing that makes me feel better about it," Ginny said flatly. "And it will get better… someday."

"Someday," he repeated quietly. "Just not right now."

They were silent for quite some time. Harry stared at her thoughtfully. Now was his chance to ask her…

"Er --- Ginny?" he began awkwardly. "About that other night… you know, when Voldemort escaped from my body?"

She looked a little nervous at these words. "Yes?"

"Did you really mean what you said?" he asked finally.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny wondered, trying to play innocent. "What did I say?" It was obvious from the apprehensive look on her face that she knew exactly what she was talking about. Harry wisely decided not to point this out.

"You said that you loved me," he clarified, feeling his face turn red. "Did you mean it?"

Now Ginny was blushing. It reminded Harry how she acted around him years ago. "Well, yes," she said carefully. "I mean, you're my friend. Of course I --- care about you."

This answer didn't satisfy Harry. "If you meant it as a friend, then why did you kiss me?"

Ginny was shocked. "Y --- You r-r-remembered that?" she stammered.

"Erm… yeah," Harry replied slowly.

"I'd better be getting back inside," Ginny said hastily, standing up. "It's almost time for dinner… are you coming inside or what?"

"Yes," Harry said reluctantly. "I am a little hungry. I'll come in soon… I just want to see the sunset."

"Fine," she said quickly. She ran back into The Burrow.

Harry watched her go. Of course she didn't want to talk more about it. If her feelings were more than just friendly, she wasn't about to admit that in a hurry…

But Harry didn't know about his own feelings either. He liked Ginny as a friend. And combined with his current problems and the rollercoaster ride of a relationship he'd had with Cho, he wasn't sure he was ready for another girlfriend.

Yet Ginny had been the one he had been able to talk to about Sirius during the entire summer. She didn't pretend to know how he felt. She seemed to understand his feelings better than even Ron and Hermione. Also, she now knew about the prophecy, ---something that only he and Dumbledore knew about. You can't go around sharing a secret without another person without somehow getting close to them…

_It doesn't matter right now,_ Harry thought decidedly. _All that matters is getting through today and all the other days without Sirius. Then I can think about that…_

The sky turned pink, and the dying light of the sun reflected across the waters of the pond. Harry watched this magnificent sight. The sky seemed to go on and on forever. He was filled with the temptation to simply take his Firebolt, fly off, and remain off the ground, ridding himself of all his problems.

Only that was just a dream. Things were never that easy, and they never would be. He would just have to accept that.

__

In nearly two weeks, he'd be returning to Hogwarts. Surely another year filled with pain, fear, and unpleasant surprises was awaiting him…

_Ginny's right, though, _Harry realized. _I'm not alone --- or at least not as alone as I think. Even if Ron and Hermione don't understand everything I'm going through, they're still my friends --- hopefully. And maybe things will get better. Not right now, but someday they might…I'll just have to wait and see what comes._

He spent a few more minutes outside until the sun had completely set. Then, taking a deep breath, he walked back towards The Burrow.

The End.


End file.
